I do not own the rights to NCIS or anything related to NCIS. I am simply writing this for my own writing pleasure and for the reading pleasure of others.

Ch. 2

The building in front of Tali made her nervous. She didn't understand why. She had frequently gone to the Mossad building back home with her father, brother and sister when she was a kid and that never intimidated her at all. But that was at home and this clearly wasn't.

She squeezed in her hand the silver Star of David that hung around her neck and walked through the glass front doors of the building. The guard and the receptionist in the lobby looked up at her as she entered and the looks on their faces quickly changed from bored to concerned and serious.

As the NCIS D.C. headquarters receptionist, Megan had seen many victims walk through those doors but somehow this felt different to her. The girl looked young, maybe around 20 or 21 years old. She looked like she had been through a lot. Her dark brown hair was a mess of waves that hung around her shoulders, her chocolate brown eyes seemed sunken, everywhere a patch of skin was visible there were also scratches and bruises and her clothes looked filthy as if she had rolled in a pile of dirt.

"What happened? Are you okay?" asked Megan as she slowly stood up from her desk, not taking her eyes off Tali. For some reason the girl looked strangely familiar to her.

"I will be fine but may I please speak with someone who works here? I think I was kidnapped and I need to get home."

Tali walked to the counter and leaned on the cold granite surface. She felt weak, tired and sore. "Of course," answered Megan. "Just give me a second. I think Director Vance just got out of a meeting. I'll call him for you."

Megan picked up the phone and pressed a few buttons before the phone on the other line began to ring. "Do you need a chair? You don't look so great," said Megan as she noticed Tali supporting herself against the counter.

"No, thank you. I am okay. I just need to talk to someone."

Megan eyed Tali cautiously but quickly changed her focus as Vance answered her call. "There is a young lady here who would like to speak with you," Megan said. "She looks pretty shaken…"

"Yes…"

"She says she was kidnapped…"

"Well, no…"

"Of course. I will tell her…"

"Thank you sir. Good bye."

Megan hung up the phone before looking up at Tali. Then it hit her; this girl reminded her of one of their agents, Ziva. The way she looks and her accent, it's all so similar. "Ummm… He said that he's on his way down. He wants to talk to you out here in the lobby for a bit before his next meeting. You can sit over there and wait for him if you want."

"Thank you."

Tali went and sat in one of the three black leather chairs in the corner of the lobby where Megan had pointed. Sitting down made her realize just how tired she really was. Every bone in her body felt like jelly and her eyelids felt warm and heavy.

Tali was nodding off slightly when Director Vance walked calmly into the lobby and looked to Megan with a question in his eyes. She silently answered him by pointing to the corner where Tali sat looking down into her empty hands and at the dirt smudged all over them.

Vance walked with ease over to Tali and sat down in the chair opposite her. He held himself in such away that, even as she urged herself to stay conscious, Tali could tell that he was the type of man who could have control over any situation that presented itself to him. "Who kidnapped you? You did say you were kidnapped?" Vance asked.

"Yes, I did. It was Hamas. It has been a very long time since I have seen daylight. I have missed it very much."

"Hamas? But that's in the Middle East. How did you get to America?"

"I don't know. Trust me, I wish I did. My family probably thinks that I am dead after all these years. All I want is to go home and find them."

"How long has it been since you last saw them?"

"My family? Five years as I can remember."

"That's a long time to be held captive. Why didn't Hamas just kill you?"

"Probably Father, but I cannot know for sure. I know Father loves us but sometimes I just wonder…"

"Your father? He must have a lot of power to be able to influence Hamas. What's his name?"

"Eli David."

There was a long moment of silence as Vance looked into the girl's eyes and a creeping suspicion wedged itself into his mind. "What's your name?"

"My name is Tali David."