Previously...
"Zee-vah! What happened to your eye?" Tony kept bugging her about it.
'Why can't he leave me alone?' Ziva thought. "Nothing," she lied. "I ran into a door."
"DiNozzo, with me," Gibbs ordered.
"On your six, boss," Tony answered, following Gibbs to the elevator.
After she was sure Tony was gone, she pulled a mirror out of her desk. Her eye looked bad. She had no idea what she had done to Ray to deserve this, but one thing was certain: If Tony knew the truth, Ray would die.
In the elevator, Tony flipped the emergency switch and faced Gibbs. "Boss, Ziva did not run into a cabinet. Someone hit her in the face."
"Ya think, DiNozzo? I want you to find out who did it, and why. Start with Ray Cruz."
"Got it, boss." Seeing the look on Gibbs' face, Tony added, "I think I'll go pay CI-Ray a visit."
"Yeah, you do that. Don't forget your gear." Gibbs flipped the emergency switch and the two agents stepped off the elevator.
As Tony was gearing up, Ziva was staring off into space, at least until Tony loaded a new clip in his SIG. These were hollow point rounds. After she heard the "click" of Tony's SIG, she looked up.
"Tony, where are you going?" Ziva asked him.
"I'm gonna go pay a visit to CI-Ray. Gibbs' orders."
"NO!" Ziva got up and blocked Tony's path.
"Ziva, there's something you're not telling me. Why can't I see CI-Ray?"
"He's just feeling anti-social right now."
"So that's why he turned you into a punching bag? Uh-uh. It doesn't work that way. Now, move."
"Stand up, Cruz. We're gonna talk, man to man."
Ray stood up and faced Tony, wobbling a little bit. "What?"
"I saw that little present you gave Ziva earlier. I don't think you remember my warning."
"First off, I do remember your warning. Second, Ziva is a klutz. It's not my fault that she hit her face on that cabinet." Ray smiled. Tony snapped.
Tony grabbed Ray and pinned him against a wall. "Listen to me, you drunk son of a bitch. Here's what's gonna happen. If Ziva has a bruise, you get a scar. If she limps, you're on crutches. If she's on crutches, I'll put you in a wheelchair. And if she's in the ER, I'm going to put you in the morgue."
"Gibbs, I told you what happened already."
"And I said bullshit. Tell me the truth, Agent David."
The look on Gibbs' face told her she didn't have a choice in the matter.
"Fine. Ray saw Tony leaving my apartment last night and he lost it. At first, he only broke some glass and a table. Then he came after me. He gave me the black eye, but I think I kicked him in the groin hard enough that he will not have any children."
"Regardless, I'm still assigning someone to watch your six."
"Who?"
"DiNozzo," Gibbs said as Tony got off the elevator.
"Tony? If he finds out what Ray did-"
"I already know, Ziva. And I promised him that whatever he did to you, he'd get worse. I'm not letting him get away with this."
"Tony, I do not mean to sound ungrateful, but I can take care of myself."
"David, I don't recall saying it was up to you," Gibbs said. "Back to work."
At Ziva's apartment building, neither Tony or Ziva knew it, but Ray was watching them, waiting for Tony to leave so he could, at least in his mind, teach Ziva a lesson.
He got out of his car and staggered to Ziva's apartment. He was getting off the elevator as Tony was leaving Ziva's apartment.
Tony was halfway to the elevator when he realized that he forgot his phone. When he got back to her door, he heard Ray screaming at the top of his lungs.
"YOU STUPID BITCH! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU RAN TO HIM FOR A LITTLE BIT OF COMFORT FOR THAT LITTLE BRUISE! BUT NOW, I WILL GIVE YOU A REASON TO NEED COMFORT!"
Tony heard several blows land on Ziva, and he drew his SIG and kicked her door down, aiming his weapon at Ray, who was holding a knife in one hand and an unconscious Ziva in the other.
"You take one more step and I'll slice her throat!"
"Put the knife down, Ray. This is between you and me. Leave her out of this."
"No." Ray stuck the knife in Ziva's side and ran past Tony, knocking him on the ground. Tony shot Ray in the tricep and shoulder. He used her phone to call 911 and Gibbs.
When Gibbs got to Ziva's apartment, he saw that Tony had sort of treated her wound, wrapping it and keeping pressure on it. Looking at Tony, Gibbs thought he saw a flash of scarlet in his Senior Field Agent's eyes. Tony wanted Ray Cruz dead.
Somehow, Tony could feel the bastard's presence.
Tony set Ziva's head gently on the floor and ran out of the apartment, straight for the parking lot.
"DiNozzo! DiNOZZO! STAY HERE!" It was too late. Tony was taking the stairs three at a time. "McGee, make sure DiNozzo doesn't do anything stupid."
"On it, boss." McGee took off after Tony, and Gibbs was stuck with the BOLO on Ray.
Tony spotted Ray in the parking lot and pulled him out of his car.
"You like beating up on defenseless women, Ray? See if you like this, you fucking coward."
Tony began to hit every available spot on Ray, breaking Ray's nose and a few ribs. Luckily for Ray, McGee pulled Tony off before a kill shot could be delivered. Ray crawled back to his car and sped off before Tony broke out of McGee's grasp.
"You should've let me kill him, McGee." Tony was fuming, and McGee saw the flash of scarlet in Tony's eyes. He wanted blood.