Chapter 1 – Life Protected
Chaka ran through the busy streets, rain pouring down on her face, her feet coming down hard on the scattered puddles soaking the bottoms of her long black ripped leggings, she ran across the road without waiting for the walk sign, she was in a rush to get out of the rain
When Chaka reached the NCIS building her long dark brown hair was damp and messy and the water was causing her over sized plain white tee under her green parka to cling to her small frame, her tattered dirty white canvas shoes were filled with water, she emptied them out and adjusted her clothes and hair the best she could before entering the building, she walked up to the big security guard standing next to the metal detector
"Excuse me sir, I'm here to see special agent Gibbs please"
"Sorry I can't let you do that, this is a federal law enforcement office not a playground, you're clearly not here on appointment and special agent Gibbs has no family, come back tomorrow when someone knows you're coming"
"But"
"I'm sorry there's nothing I can do", Chaka turned and walked out the door, she was disheartened but not ready to give up yet, her parents had taught her well, she walked around the side of the building, she saw a truck with several men unloading body bags ready to take around the side door, she slipped past them and went a little further down the side of the building until she found a dumpster, she climbed the frame and pulled herself up through the garbage flap on the side of the wall, it was a bit of a squeeze but she had enough space to crawl
Chaka came out of the garbage flap just outside the autopsy room, she heard voices and quickly hid behind a large pole near the elevator, she saw an old man in a bow tie babbling on to a younger man with light brown curly hair and glasses, Chaka assumed that they were Dr. Mallard and Jimmy, followed by the men with the gurneys when the hallway was clear she made her way to the elevator and up to the bullpen, when the elevator doors opened she saw the security guard from downstairs, she gasped and he turned his head
"HEY, I thought I told you to get out", Chaka ran the other way with the security guard chasing after her, she was frantically looking around for an older man with a funny haircut, she was told she would know who he was when she saw him, and also that Special Agent Gibbs would probably recognize her as well so not to be surprised if he had a heart attack, "HEY STOP"
"NO", Chaka turned her head to see how far ahead she was of the security guard, she had a good 20 metres, she also saw several people watching her, she turned a corner and suddenly ran into someone, she looked up at their face still trying to catch her breath, the woman looked back down at her in confusion
"That's OK Mark, I've got her"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, go back down stairs", she looked back down at the child in front at her, she was looking up at her with beautiful big brown eyes studying her face, head slightly tilted to the side to the side, suddenly her eyes lit up with recognition
"Ziva?"
"How do you know my name?"
"What are you doing here?"
"What am I do.., who are you?"
"My name's Chaka, I need to see Special Agent Gibbs right away"
"You're Israeli"
"Partially, but that's not important right now, I need to see Special Agent Gibbs, I need his help"
"How old are you, where are your parents, and how did you get here?"
"I can't tell you that until I see Gibbs"
"You know Gibbs well then"
"No, actually I've never met him"
"You called him Gibbs"
"That's his name"
"No, his name's Jethro, only people who know him know to call him Gibbs, perhaps your parents know him"
"I already told you, I can't tell you"
"Does Gibbs know who you are?"
"No, he doesn't know who I am, but he will when he sees me"
"So he does know your parents, friends with your mum or dad?"
"Please Ziva, where's Gibbs?" Chaka's eyes began to water, and Ziva gave in
"He's up in MTAC, he'll be down in a minute, you can wait at my desk", Chaka walked over to Ziva's desk and sat down, she ran her hands over the wood of the desk and the arms of the chair, a single tear ran down her cheek before she wiped it away, Ziva felt sorry for the little girl, she had obviously been through a lot, Ziva watched as Chaka got out some paper and a pencil and began to draw
"Morning Ziva", Tony walked into the bullpen but stopped when he saw the young girl at Ziva's desk who still hadn't looked up, he pointed gave Ziva a look that asked who the little girl was, before Ziva could answer they heard a small voice
"Ziva?"
"Yes", Chaka looked at Ziva as she walked towards her desk to talk to her taking extra special care not to make eye contact with Tony, "Do you have a pair of sunglasses I can borrow, the sun coming through the skylight is bothering me", Ziva looked confused but took a pair of sunglasses out of her top draw anyway
"Here you go sweetie", Ziva handed the sunglasses and she put them on, Ziva squatted down so she was level with Chaka sitting in the chair
"Thanks Ziva", Chaka smiled, she had a beautiful smile that revealed a row of perfect teeth
"Anything else you need? Gibbs should be here in a minute"
"No thank you, I'm alright", Ziva walked over to McGee's desk and sat down
"Hi sweetie what's your name?"
"I'm Chaka, you must be Tony"
"How'd you know that?"
"Don't get all worked up Tony she knew my name too", Chaka bit her bottom lip them went back to her drawing
After about half an hour Gibbs walked down the stairs from MTAC, as soon as Chaka saw him she became nervous, she got up from Ziva's desk and walked into the middle of the bullpen to meet Gibbs, they were standing in front of each other about a metre away, Chaka looking up and Gibbs looking down
"Can I help you?"
"Special Agent Gibbs?"
"Yes, that's me", he said a little confused as to why a young girl was looking for him
"I need your help", Gibbs signalled for her to follow him, he sat down at his desk and she stood on the other side, "My names Chaka, my mum and dad are in trouble and you're the only one who can help"
"Do I know you?"
"No, we've never met, but I know you"
"How?"
"Mum used to tell me stories about you"
"Do I know your mum?"
"Yes"
"Do I know your dad?"
"Yes"
"Chaka, if you want me help I need to know who you are", Chaka took a deep breath
"My full name is Chaka Kiba Haswari", Gibbs got up so fast his chair crashed into the filing cabinet behind his desk, he pulled his gun and pointed it at Chaka which caused her to stumble backwards and loose he balance, she was lying on the floor propped up her elbows, Gibbs had come around the front of his desk gun still pointed at her, Ziva and Tony were looking on in shock
"Ari Haswari?"
"My father"
"How old are you?" Chaka didn't answer, "How, old are you?"
"13"
"That's Impossible, Ari Haswari has been dead for 14 years", Chaka shook her head and tears ran down her cheeks from underneath the sunglasses, "He's dead", Chaka shook her head
"No"
"What do you mean no?"
"He isn't dead"
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't shoot you right now"
"I didn't do anything wrong, and neither did my father"
"HE KILLED KATE"
"NO", Gibbs was getting angry
"HE KILLED KATE, did he ever tell you that, did he tell you about Caitlin"
"He didn't kill Kate", Chaka got up on her feet, surprisingly nobody in the other offices had noticed anything, Tony was still staring on in shock, but Ziva was on the verge of a heart attack, Chaka took off Ziva's sunglasses and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands, when Chaka opened her eyes Gibbs saw a familiar pair of beautiful dark brown watery eyes staring back at him
"Kate", Chaka nodded, Gibbs released the gun and let it drop to the floor, "That's how you know me, she told you?" Chaka nodded again, she pulled a worn folded piece of paper out of her parka pocket and handed it to Gibbs
"She gave that to me when I was 6 years old, told me if I was ever in trouble, this was the one man that could get me out", Gibbs stared at the extremely realistic sketch that was identical to the one of him that he found in Kate's sketch book 14 years ago
"Did Kate or Ari ever tell you why your name was Chaka Kiba Haswari?"
"No"
"Ziva?", Ziva was sitting with her mouth open, trying to figure out how her brother was still alive after all these years, Tony was exactly the same wondering about his former partner
"Um, Chaka and Kiba are both Hebrew names, Chaka meaning life, and Kiba means protected"
"I suppose they didn't tell you whose life they were protecting when they left did they?"
"No, but please Gibbs, I need you to help me find them", Chaka looked up at Gibbs with longing eyes
"What do you know so far", Chaka hugged Gibbs tightly
"Thankyou Gibbs"