Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the characters in NCIS

This story is a fictional twist on the end of Season 6

To Whom Do Your Loyalties Truly Lie?

Tony crashed down on to the floor. The impact burned through his body. He whimpered in pain. Rivikin stood over him, pained by the wounds the fight had inflicted. Blood slithered like a snake over his body. His tanned caramel skin was tense and ready. A large shard of glass had squeezed itself through his side. His clothes were inflicted with the scars of the fight. His black hair had baby vipers of blood winding their way through the midnight black grass. His eyes were focused and enraged.

Tony looked up at Rivikin. The man was pure evil. Why did Ziva like him? He felt groggy. He was weak and his sight was dizzy. Rivikin had been trained by Mossad and was by far the better fighter. Tony regretted his previous decisions. He should have told Gibbs about the lead he was following. Or he should have spoken to Ziva at NCIS. Why did he come round to her place? He had a gut feeling Rivikin would have been there. Perhaps he was jealous of Rivkin but he was worried for Ziva as well. If he could keep on fighting, maybe Ziva would come and call NCIS. It wasn`t likely she would ever trust him but...

Tony stopped thinking about Ziva. Rivikin was ripping the large shard of glass out of his side. His face was masked by excruciating pain. Yet a sudden anger surged into his mind. Tony felt fear. He knew what was going to happen. He reached his hand out to grab his Sig Sauer. He grasped at it; it was too late. The glass slammed through his heart. Tony gazed at Rivikin. His eyes begged for help and mercy. Breathing was becoming harder. Everything was going black. Then Tony stopped thinking altogether. His heart stopped and lay broken in two. Blood slowed down and gushed out of his body. The creamy carpet turned a cherry red. Blood seeped everywhere. His eyes were closed. He lay on the ground displaying no emotion. What could he show? Rivikin admired his handiwork. He had won and the snivelling nuisance called Tony was dead.

Suddenly the door handle turned. Ziva swung the door open. She looked down at Tony`s body then up at Rivikin. She looked back and forth quickly; her eyes darted between her two friends. She gasped in disbelief.

"What happened?"she snapped.

Ziva flung herself into a blind rage. Why was Tony dead? Why was Rivikin wounded? What had happened?

"Ziva listen to me,"Rivikin soothed in his deep melodious voice."If we hide all the evidence no one will know."

"Why did you kill him?"she vociferated.

"He was going to kill me," Rivikin calmly replied.

Ziva thought about it for a while. Tony would never kill in cold blood. She knew he was not the type of person to. Judging by the way her flat was trashed, they had been fighting. Why had Tony come to her flat in the first place? She looked at the gun Tony`s fingers loosely grasped. Then she stared at the shard of glass embedded in Tony`s body. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a similar wound on Rivikin`s side.

"Michael did Tony grasp for his gun before or after you took the glass out from your side and used it as a weapon?" Ziva curiously asked.

"Before," he calmly replied.

Ziva knew he was lying.

"Get out!"she ordered."I`ll give you a chance to get away and I will not split on you. I will just point NCIS in the right direction!"

Rivikin looked hurt. Ziva whipped her phone out from her pocket. He fled out the window. She pressed in a number rapidly. It rung twice.

"What is it Ziva?"Gibbs asked through the phone.

"Gibbs..."Ziva began."I just came home and I found my flat trashed at Tony was..."

"Tony was what?"Gibbs queried a nanosecond later.

He feared what she was about to say. He had a bad feeling Tony was gone. What the hell had happened?

"He was dead, Gibbs"Z iva replied in a distraught manner.

"Ziva stay where you are! I will get the rest of the team."Gibbs ordered.

He hung up. Then he swore. Why had Tony died? What had happened?

Ziva looked at Tony. A tear trickled from her eye. She had been so hostile to him and argued with him over the past few days. Now she could never put things right. She waited for Gibbs. Yet the impossible desicion lay in her mind: should she avenge Tony by bringing his killer to justice or should she protect her fiancee Rivikin.