Before Ziva David's plane landed at Dulles, she had memorized the information that Jenny Shepard had emailed her about the MCR Team that she would be liaising with at NCIS. She believed in being as informed as possible about situations before entering into them, especially when they were as potentially explosive as this one could be. The death of Special Agent Caitlin Todd, an integral member of what was essentially the most successful team in the Washington NCIS office, would not be taken lightly. The political implications were also important, considering that the agent had, at one time, been a member of the Secret Service and had protected the President of the United States. Agent Todd had been killed in action by Ari Haswari, a Mossad operative working undercover in an al-Qaeda cell based in Washington. Ziva was Ari's handler, and so this whole mess became her problem. The orders that she received from her boss, who also happened to be her father, left no room for negotiation.
The remaining members of the MCR Team were bound to be looking for revenge, despite the fact that Ari had been establishing his credibility to the al-Qaeda cell by killing Agent Todd. Unfortunately, many innocents were sacrificed for the good of the cause. It was advantageous that Ziva knew the new director of NCIS. She'd met Jenny in Eastern Europe a few years back and had saved the woman's life. That gave her some leverage with the person who was in control, but after looking at the information she'd received, the real person in charge of the Washington office was one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Disturbing, because he had been Agent Todd's boss.
Ziva was good at finding angles, though, and the road to Gibbs was relatively simple. A man who was mourning the loss of his wife and daughter was accessible, and Gibbs was just that. The subsequent marriages simply proved that he'd never gotten over the tragedy in his life. Ziva was also good at using her own issues to make herself appealing to others. She knew her difficulties with her own father would help her in this situation and that, despite her need to defend and support Ari, Gibbs would more than likely respond to her vulnerability.
Timothy McGee was green. Easily manipulated, socially backward, and hopelessly idealistic. Granted, losing Agent Todd was sure to rip away some of that innocence, but all Ziva needed to do to get McGee on her side was to appear to be exactly what she was: self-assured, competent, and deadly. He was a much easier of a mark than the last agent on the MCR Team, Tony Dinozzo.
Anthony Dinozzo Jr. was from a wealthy New England family. The only child of Katherine Paddington Dinozzo and Anthony Dinozzo Sr, Tony had been educated by the finest of private schools before being sent to the Rhode Island Military Academy shortly after his mother's untimely death. After graduating from the Ohio State University (with a degree in Physical Education for some mysterious reason), Tony attended the Illinois State Police Academy, where he was the top candidate in his class. Following two-year stints in Peoria, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, Tony ran into Leroy Jethro Gibbs when their cases collided. Shortly after, Tony completed Agent Training and became a member of Gibbs' team.
At first glance, Ziva had thought that she should appeal to Dinozzo's white-collar, upper echelon upbringing. Class tended to be inherent in the genes, and she had never met a wealthy man who was not interested in collecting all things exotic, including people. Ziva was quite exotic, and so she thought she might fit in with Tony's affluent history. But the more she considered, the more she doubted that angle. Because after all, he had emphatically left that life behind. Based on his meager checking account and his working-class neighborhood, he'd left it for good. So, then, how to tackle Anthony Dinozzo?
After mulling the situation over for awhile, Ziva decided that she was over thinking things. Dinozzo was notoriously promiscuous, and had not had a serious relationship since his engagement in Baltimore to Wendy Brentmore, a high-school music teacher. There was no additional information on Ms. Brentmore except that she was currently married to Danny Price, Dinozzo's ex-partner from his time as a Baltimore police officer. So, then, the best way to approach Dinozzo was to appeal to his womanizing personality.
With the situation well in hand, Ziva rested her head against the headrest, grateful for a few moments of relaxation. Once she hit NCIS, she would have to deal with nothing but obstacles, so every minute of peace was a welcome relief.
It did not take long for Ziva to realize that her decisions had been spot on, except for Dinozzo. When she'd walked into the bullpen and heard him fantasizing about his dead partner, she'd been smug. The entire first exchange had cemented her satisfaction with the choice. But then, they spoke outside her hotel. That was when she realized that Anthony Dinozzo was a lot of things, but one-dimensional wasn't one of them.
"You know, that's what I like about Mossad." Tony's tone was conversational, but there was a thread of tension underlying the deep, musical voice that she found undeniably attractive. "Our training?" She pretended to preen a little. If vanity wasn't one of his weak points, maybe she could use it as her vice.
"Your modesty." She smiled against her better nature at the sarcasm in his tone.When she thanked him in Hebrew, his excellent pronunciation of the Italian response had her arching one eyebrow in consideration. Maybe some improvisation was necessary. But neither her revelation about Tali nor her suggestion of being recruited by a lesbian lover tantalized any response other than professional courtesy from him. Moreover, he did not allow himself to be distracted from his original question. Grudgingly, she revised her opinion of him. He watched her, seemingly amused.
"Which one of those usually works best for you? The brave, vengeful sister con or the possible lesbian one?" He tilted his head and studied her carefully, his curious tone balancing the incendiary words.
"Depends on the mark." No use pretending that she wasn't working an angle. If he was good enough to catch her, she had to concede the round.
"Interesting. See, I would have thought you would assess that the damsel in distress or daddy's little girl would be more beneficial for me. I mean, you had to have done some research, right? You had to know that we shared a lack of competent father figures while we were growing up."
Ouch. Direct hit. Ziva struggled to keep her face impassive but Dinozzo was too damned good. He smirked. "See, when you are undercover, it's best for you to use the most painful personal truths as part of your story. The more actual torment you are using, the more believable you are."
"You know so much. You have a lot of experience working covert operations?"
The laugh he gave in response could only be called bitter. "You could say that."
"And you have done some research on me as well, is that so? And you think you know me well enough to catch me off guard?" She folded her arms against the chill in the air, shivering a bit.
"Maybe." Taking off his jacket, he put it around her shoulders. "I know that your father is in charge of Mossad and that you did have a sister who was killed by a Hamas suicide bombing. I know that your mother and father disagreed strongly about how you were to be raised and so you took ballet lessons and combat training in an effort to please them both. Good luck with that. You know that pleasing both parents like that is damned near impossible, right? Anyway, I also know that you have a half-brother, and although I have my suspicions about his identity, it is classified."
Ziva was quickly becoming uncomfortable with Tony's depth of knowledge. "Very impressive, Agent Dinozzo. Now, if you don't mind…"
"Oh but I do mind. Because I am wondering what your directives are, David. Are you here to prevent us from killing Ari Haswari, or to complete the job yourself? I mean seriously. We know that killing people is a good way to get in with al-Qaeda and Hamas. Does Daddy think that it might work for NCIS?" Tony's voice was cold now. For the first time in a long time, Ziva was in over her head. Worst of all was that she had no idea how it had happened. But she had to protect the operation. Now that she was determined that the action was necessary, she needed to carry it through. She needed to first get Tony Dinozzo off the trail. Desperate now, she played one last card.
"It was easy to figure out how to play Gibbs. After all, he lost a wife and daughter to a violent murder. But I assume you already knew that, right? You've been a member of this team for what, 5 years now? Surely he shared that bit of history with you. I am sure he knows just about everything about you. You've got more in your closet than just being unloved by your father."
The violent flinch should have made Ziva feel victorious. Finally she had scored her own hit. But instead, she simply felt sad. Tony's green eyes were shattered and horrified, and she allowed herself, for a brief moment, to hate her job. It had removed all chances of a normal relationship…a normal life…and had left her with this mockery. Subterfuge and one-upping a man that, in any other environment, could easily be a friend or lover. But now, that possibility had been rendered unattainable.
"What do you know? What do you know about me?" His whisper was harsh and his hands shook as he ran them through his hair.
"Nothing that isn't in your file. Nothing Tony." Why was she reassuring him? What was it about this man that made it so hard to hurt him…so hard to see him in pain? She barely knew him.
At her words though, he transformed. His hands stilled. His eyes cleared. Astonishingly, his pretty, pretty mouth curved into a smirk. "See, David? That's how you do it. You have to take the shit that you've been through and make it work in your favor. The darker the secret, the better the con. That way, it's not a cover. It's you. Just you…altered. Learn from a master, young Padawan."
She gaped at him. "How many masks do you wear, Agent Dinozzo? And what the hell lies under them?"
His smirk turned sad. "The eye sees not itself, But by reflection, by some other things."
Ziva sighed and responded with Cassius' line. "It is very much lamented, Brutus, that you have no such mirrors as will turn your hidden worthiness into your eye that you might see your shadow."
Tony Dinozzo tipped an imaginary hat and strode off into the night. Ziva could only watch him leave.