AN: Hey people, it's certainly been a while-too long in my humble opinion- but I'm baacckkkk! I had this idea pop in my head the other day and I decided to go along with it here. This is kind of pretty much AU (such sure language, I know), but it has all the normal team elements with the addition of one character. So anyway, those who despise AU, consider that your warning. I don't know if this is a good idea, but I'm just planning on riding the wave out and seeing where it takes me. This is going to start off pretty slow, as I have to do introductions that I normally wouldn't have to, but just bear with me. Also, there will be TIVA in later chapters :D
Disclaimer: What do you think?
Now, on with the story
…
It had been a long week.
Too long, if you ask the team that had not been to their respective houses in over four days, due to the re-emergence of a man ranked number one on NCIS' most wanted list. Faraj al-Haidar had killed ten marine families after managing to sneak a bomb on base the previous year, and after that had slaughtered the five NCIS agents sent on a raid into his home. Needless to say, once Vance got a call pertaining to his possible whereabouts, it was all hands-on deck.
Tensions were running high, and though the entire agency participated in this manhunt, Team Gibbs was the only team to never stop working. Tony and Ziva couldn't even find the energy to flirt with each other! Nothing was working out; the skylight felt much brighter than usual, the snack machine had been raided by hungry agents, and all leads that they managed to find were just dead ends.
It was obvious they were in need of a break, but Gibbs brought them to the plasma for the tenth time that day to review their findings.
"What do we got?" He demanded, his usual brusque manner intensified with the stress.
Ziva was the first to speak up as the entire team scrambled to collect their notes.
"Al-Haidar was spotted by a woman in Alexandria, he was trying to rent a car, and she recognized his face from the news." She then allowed Tony to speak.
"We followed up with her, but all she was able to tell us was that he tried to pay in cash, and that he had another man with him. We tried to get the security feed, but it had been wiped clean." Tony winced at the look of fury in the eyes of his boss.
"So you're telling me we have nothing? This guy literally walks into our laps and we can't get one single piece of information that could tell us what he's planning next? Did you even bother to get a description of the other guy?" He screamed, frustrated at the situation.
"Yes boss, the lady helped with a sketch." McGee said timidly as he pulled it up on the screen. The man was middle eastern and had a crazed look in his eye that sent a shiver down even Gibbs' spine.
"Who is that?" Ziva asked, she knew most of the terrorists in the database, but this one didn't look familiar at all.
All four of the team members jumped at the sound of a voice coming from the edge of the bullpen.
"That would be Hasan el-Halim, computer extraordinaire." Said the person.
Upon recognition of the voice, Ziva gasped excitedly and whipped her head around as she ran towards the woman standing at the bullpen entrance, jumping into an Abby-like hug.
"Oh my God, I can't believe you're here!" Ziva exclaimed in Hebrew as the woman set her down and looked her in the eye.
The woman looked normal enough; she was a blonde-hair blue-eyed American who wore grey jeans and black converse, with a sleeveless light blue jean jacket over a long sleeve white T-shirt, but Gibbs immediately spotted multiple small bulges caused by weapon concealment, indicating that this woman was nowhere near ordinary.
"It has been a while, yes?" She simultaneously asked and stated in the same way and same language that Ziva did.
The three men of the team were left to watch curiously; since when had Ziva been so openly affectionate with anybody? The women continued their conversation in Hebrew, oblivious to the awkward looks the team were shooting their way.
"It has been far too long. I really missed you, my friend." Ziva said as she hugged the woman even tighter than before.
"And I you, but you know how much the job can get in the way of a personal life." The woman pointed out with an air of sadness.
Tony finally gathered the courage to say something.
"Uh, Ziva? Are you gonna introduce us? Or…" He asked nervously as the two women chuckled lightly.
"Yes, I'm sorry, this is Jess Price, she was my partner for eight years at Mossad. She also happens to be my best friend." She informed the team as the two shared a smile.
"Jess, these are Gibbs, Tony, and Tim, my teammates." She said as she pointed to each of them respectively.
Jess stepped toward the team, offering a warm smile and a handshake.
"It is nice to meet you all, as Ziva said, I am Jess. I've heard a few things about you all, but from the looks on your faces I doubt you can say the same." She assumed with a chuckle.
"That's right. I think that entitles me to at least five questions, right Ziva?" Tony asked jokingly and looked toward his partner, who glared at him but with amusement coloring her eyes.
"You may have one." She answered, annoyed at the smile that showed up on his face.
"Haha, that was what I was shooting for!" He informed the team with a victorious smile, raising his hand toward McGee as he tried to get a high-five.
At everyone's amused groan, he asked the one question that had been on his mind since he was introduced to her.
"Okay, Ziva said you were her partner at Mossad, but you don't look Israeli. How did that happen?" Tony asked, hoping that Ziva wouldn't castrate him for his earlier use of psychological tactics.
Upon hearing the question, Jess turned to Ziva who was standing slighty behind her.
"This is the one you love, yes?" She questioned with a growing smirk on her face as Ziva became flustered.
She had never told anyone!
"What? No! I don't know what you're talking about!" She tried to deny in Hebrew, but Jess saw right through the act, she was her best friend after all.
Despite wanting to push the issue, Jess turned back around and replied to Tony.
"You're correct, I'm not Israeli, I was in the Marine Corps and was a liaison to Mossad at the time." She explained, not expecting the different look and impressed grunt that Gibbs gave her.
"You're a Marine?" He asked her with growing respect in his voice.
"Yes sir, I got out a few years ago. You're a Gunny, aren't you?" She asked with amusement.
"That easy to point out, huh?" He joked, surprising the rest of the team.
"You've got a certain 'I have more power than you' attitude that I find common among the rank." She said with a smile.
Trusting her already for the obvious reasons, Gibbs just chuckled, turned towards the monitor and pointed at the picture of the mystery man.
"You said you know this guy?" He was ready to get back to business.
Jess sighed and began explaining her intel to the team.
"Yes, his name is Hasan el-Halim, he specializes in anything tech related, and has hacked into almost every major government database, looking for weak spots in our country's infrastructure." She informed them all, her face going impossibly serious in a fraction of a second.
"Please, that's child's play" McGee bragged and crossed his arms over his chest, hoping to impress this new woman. She was quite pretty after all.
Jess simply rolled her eyes and replied in a voice that was much more intimidating than her usual smiling face would lead anyone to think.
"I suggest you take this seriously, Agent McGee, because this man has managed to infiltrate most of our major power grids and will shut them down at even the slightest chance that we might be on to him. He is working with the other man on the screen, al-Haidar, to place leverage on the government to release hundreds of terrorists from our most secure imprisonment facilities." McGee's face went pale, and he mumbled some sense of an apology before scurrying away to sit at his desk.
Jess returned to her normal voice as if nothing had happened and continued the briefing.
"I have been working with Mossad to locate him, and we have found a location near here where he is likely to be staying, however we have no idea what kind of security measures he has in place." She deadpanned.
"Wait, you have a location and Mossad hasn't told us?" Ziva asked, the feeling of betrayal creeping up on her.
"Easy Ziva, your father was given intel, and I was sent to check it out. In fact, I was just at the compound making observations, and this was the first place that I came to. I am not withholding anything." She explained, assuring Ziva that she was loyal.
At this, Ziva sighed with self-disappointment, she knew that she could trust Jess more than anyone.
"I am sorry, it is just that we have been at this for days with no breaks, and I just want to get this over with." Ziva apologized.
Jess nodded at Ziva, her signal that she was forgiven, and turned to Gibbs.
"I suggest you give your team a break. You may accompany me on a surveillance trip to the compound tomorrow, and your team needs to be at one hundred percent- I trust I don't need to tell you that there can be no mistakes, this is too important." She took on a tone that didn't give Gibbs any room to protest, so he reluctantly agreed.
The team sighed in relief and began to pack up their things.
"Ziva my friend, unfortunately I have some business to take care of tonight, but before I leave, we will spend much-awaited time together, okay?" Jess assured her as she walked towards the elevator.
Ziva was disappointed but agreed. She sent a wave toward her friend before the elevator doors closed, then turned around and caught Tony staring at her curiously. She raised an eyebrow as if to ask what he wanted, and he began the inevitable round of questioning.
"Where did you two meet?" He asked as if holding in questions for any longer would kill him.
"It all started in Afghanistan…"
AN: The next chapter is going to be like a flashback of Ziva and Jess meeting, I promise that from now on the pace will be picked up quite a bit. I'm think this is going to end up being a fairly long story, so make sure to tune in for more, and let me know how you feel about it through- you guessed it- reviews!