"Ziva, can you fight?"
His query hung in the air, an unanswered question mark
The resounding silence and the look in her eyes said it all.
She had given up. The Ziva Tony knew, the one who would fight tooth and nail and never back down, was gone. The fight had left her just as they had left her back her in Tel Aviv.
He steeled himself against the guilt. This was going to be harder than they thought.
Then again the game plan had changed substantially.
Whereas before it was a reconnaissance mission of vengeance, now it was a recovery mission.
Saleem reentered their poor excuse for an interrogation room, a flurry of activity sounding behind him.
Tony's brain ran a million miles per hour as he eyed the knife in Saleem's hand. Just what would be their next step now?
"Oh hey Saleem, what's up man? What's the commotion?"
He hoped to God it wasn't what he thought it was.
"We're moving out."
Well damn.
"Well that's good. I was getting kind of tired of this place."
Tony shifted, wondering what Saleem was doing at the window behind him. The last thing he wanted was to be knifed in the back.
"We're not taking prisoners."
"Well ok, it was nice talking with you."
"No we're not done yet," yanking Ziva's head back by her hair, Saleem snaked his arm around her neck, placing the blade of his knife at the base of her throat.
"If they do not check in, their people will come looking for them," she pleaded.
Tony noted the crazed look in her eyes.
"Ziva shut up," he growled.
The tension inside the room was insurmountable.
"Kill me, you'll need the Americans for leverage."
Ziva's anguished look of desperation said it all.
"I don't make bargains."
Tony decided then and there that it had gone far enough. They hadn't come here to watch Ziva make a martyr out of herself.
"Do you make pizza?"
"What?"
And with the drop of a single code word, their game plan fell into action.
The 'unconscious' McGee sprang to life. Kicking Saleem's feet out from underneath him, he sent the man crashing to the floor. Tony could not have been prouder.
Then it all went wrong.
Saleem's knife flew from his hand. As McGee dove to grab it, Tony watched in horror as the other man leveled a gun at his probie's head.
"Stop, Stop!" Tony cried out, his voice raw with thirst and desperation.
"There's something I haven't told you yet."
Tony looked into Ziva's eyes. Terror was written clearly over her face. It was a rare sight to behold, one which he did not care to see again.
"What is that?"
Saleem paused, awaiting Tony's response.
"Well, I told you about the brains, I told you about the guts, I told you about the muscle, the scientist, the Politian, the leader. I told you about every member of the team, except
myself. The part I play."
Beat.
"Which is?"
McGee & Ziva held their breath in anticipation. Tony glanced down at McGee before grinning at Saleem.
"I'm the wildcard."
"I'm the guy who looks at the reality in front of him and refuses to accept it. Like right now. I should be terrified, right? But I'm not. 'Cause I just can't stop thinking about the movie True Lies. You know where Arnie's strapped to the chair and shot full of truth serum. And he picks his cuffs and kills everybody? You have 30 seconds to live Saleem."
Tony saw Ziva's brow crease in confusion. Saleem hovered over him wearing the same confused expression.
The words flowed as freely as the truth serum throughout his veins. He wondered if he had made any sense. He was known have a big mouth but this was just ridiculous. The words flowed rapidly, one after the other, like one big unending waterfall of a sentence.
Saleem chuckled, amused at the thought. "You're still bound. You're lying."
Tony grinned smugly, as much as his cracked lips would let him. This guy certainly had it coming.
"I can't lie. And I didn't say that I was going to be the one to kill ya. Remember when I told you my boss was a sniper"
And then as if in slow motion, a bullet smashed the window, the kill-shot hitting Saleem squarely in the head.
It quickly brought back memories - his previous partner Kate and her untimely death. Tony quickly pushed down the emotions that began bubbling up, there was no time to reminisce. He had to get his current partner out of this death trap.
A firefight erupted outside as McGee ran for Tony and started slicing through his bindings.
Suddenly, one of Saleem's buddies came charging through the door, spurred on by the commotion.
"Look out!" Tony cried as McGee ducked and another bullet punctured the window, taking out terrorist number 2.
McGee scrambled to free Tony, then they both ran to Ziva's side.
A motionless Ziva sat focused on the growing pool of her captor's blood, no doubt still in shock. With no time to spare they cut through her bindings and gently grabbed her by the arms. Draping them over their shoulders, the two men pulled her towards the door. They may have well been dragging a sack of flour considering the lack of resistance, the lack of anything.
Tony moved sluggishly. Whatever had been added to that truth serum cocktail had thankfully not dulled his senses. But as his muscles seized, his limbs were another story. He struggled to hold himself up as McGee carried most of Ziva's weight.
With McGee holding the gun, they made their way painstakingly down the corridor until they heard footsteps rounding the corner in front of them.
McGee and Ziva turned, wearily facing Tony expectantly.
Shit, they were in trouble.
Author's Note: A HUGE thanks to Mokiboblink, my own little 'editor'. Without her it's unlikely this fic would exist, either that or it would be a much suckier.