Author's Note: This is part three of "Unfinished Business." We last left the story with Ziva David arriving back to the United States with Jethro and Suzanne Gibbs. Ziva and Suzanne shared a very close friendship; her sudden departure left Suzanne devastated and filled with questions. Suzanne's and Ziva's shared past reunites the two for a recent situation in a joint NCIS/White House investigation. Those not familiar with the back story of Suzanne and other White House characters (Claudia), please feel free to read past works-"September Song," "Always on the Run" or "Orientation" to have a familiarization with Claudia.
Just as Suzanne Gibbs promised, she arrived around 7:00 am, bringing snack food and groceries for the guest home. For her former neighbors, it was not an unusual sight to see Suzanne in the neighborhood. She came by several times a week unannounced—before work, during work hours, and sometimes after work for catch up.
"Hi, Suzanne!"
The next door neighbor was a widow, Mrs. Dockery.
Upon moving into the neighborhood years ago, she introduced herself and proceeded to ask questions, some that would offend others but not Suzanne. She was the leader of the neighborhood watch, and the majority of the area were older, settled residents.
'Four other people lived in that house; I need to know what type of people live in this neighborhood.'
'I work for the government, I go to school at night, and I don't have a bunch of foolishness going on where I live.' Suzanne promptly answered. 'Whatever you need me to do, I am right here.'
From the first meeting, Suzanne kept her word. The neighbors watched over the home and tracked her activity out of concern, considering the young homeowner a daughter/granddaughter figure. She lived alone in her modest three bedroom home for five years, remained active in neighborhood affairs and definitely, kept the interest of the community in the forefront. Some didn't sleep until they noticed the Virginia plates in the driveway, SDM 6; she parked the red car facing forward. All the years in Washington, she parked the jeep was towards the house, registered the car with DC tags reading EGL 6. They recognized the various cars—the white jeep, the red Karmann Ghia and of recent Jethro's work-related Charger.
"Expecting company again, Suzanne?" She nodded, carrying a bag of groceries from her hatchback. The elder offered to help.
"I worry more about you, Mrs. Dockery." She declined, saying she was fine—just the one bag. "How are you?"
"I'm fine, Baby girl."
"Got to make sure the house is stocked with everything!" Suzanne laughed.
"Everything okay, Suzanne?" Mrs. Dockery asked. "I've been keeping up with you and this mess."
"Yes, ma'am." Suzanne gave a convincing smile. "I have a friend of mine staying here for a while. You remember Ziva from work?"
The elderly neighbor nodded. "It'll be nice to see her."
"Mrs. Dockery, please don't tell anyone she's visiting." Suzanne placed a hand on her shoulder.
"If anyone asks, say it's my mother."
"I'll do you one better. I'll call if I see anything suspicious."
"Thanks, Mrs. Dockery."
"I'll see you later."
She opened the house door, properly greeted herself before walking further inside the house.
"Good Morning."
"Shoshana?"
"Surprised that I'm here?" Suzanne chuckled. "Promised I'd come by. Remember?"
"I know you still wake up at 5, Shoshana." Ziva dressed in the bedroom, the door slightly open.
Suzanne chuckled, putting away the groceries. "I've moved up to 5:30. Now I do the laundry and cook breakfast. I still go to bed by 9, sometimes 10 o'clock."
"No more late nights?"
"If it is, I'm watching a Western with Jethro downstairs."
She fixed coffee in the kitchen. "Listen, don't tell Jethro about …" Suzanne laughed, pouring less coffee and more milk. "I'm not supposed to drink coffee while I'm pregnant, but I want just a taste…" She sipped the beverage, sighed in contentedness. "That's when I knew I was pregnant—the smell of coffee making me nauseous."
First, Ziva picked up the coffee with some concern. Two years. Did Suzanne forget the smallest details?
"Everything's kosher. I didn't stop after you left."
"This is exactly why I feel I'm home." She settled back in the kitchen chair, confidently watched her good friend inspect the kitchen once more, boiling the water sanitizing the dishware and counter tops. "You are one of my few Christian friends who truly respect religious customs."
"You can thank Nan for that." Suzanne continued.
"Why don't you ever talk about your time in the Peace Corps?" Ziva asked.
"The same reason we both like listening to U2." She answered. Her friend looked puzzled in the response. "Higher calling...and I failed."
"You helped a community."
"I knew God wanted me to do something meaningful in my life. That call became stronger my senior year at William and Mary; three months later, I was in Washington, saying goodbye to my parents. All I had was a duffle bag, my Cross, my Bible and my faith. I was on a flight to Guatemala City." Suzanne stopped, stared out a window, the tears formed in her eyes.
"Ziva, I was 21 years old, thought I could change the world. I wanted to change the world. My presence destroyed a community. I still have nightmares about it." Suzanne removed her glasses, pinched the bridge of her nose and buried her head downward. "Jethro's not the only one with demons…"
"Does Gibbs know about it?"
"A little." Suzanne said.
"Thought we'd go by…see everyone…" Ziva casually mentioned.
"Can't. No one else knows about you being here...yet." Suzanne glanced at her watch. "Besides, Claudia's supposed to come by; I called her while I picked up the groceries."
Suzanne sipped on the lukewarm concoction, sighing with content.
"Tell me about Claudia. She works at the White House?"
"Claudia's my coworker…" Suzanne entertained with stories of some of the funnier moments with the traveling companion and office space mate. "She's a female Tony with the zany nicknames—"Newlywed, Stacks, Hyphen, Queen, Quotable…but mostly it's Newlywed."
"I wondered when…" Ziva whispered. "You were going to mention Tony."
Suzanne answered, hesitant to continue. "Yes, and…" She sighed. "Tony and Claudia are kind of… dating."
Ziva's eyes shifted in wonder, in curiosity.
"Are they serious?"
Suzanne explained the situation, how in a last minute attempt Claudia escorted Tony to a dinner a few months ago. 'Jethro finally agreed to attend a meritorious ceremonial ball in his honor.'
"She knows all about you, Ziva. The truth is…Tony's never gotten over you. Honestly, she's a widow; husband was killed in Afghanistan a few years ago."
Jimmy Palmer became accustomed to DiNozzo's moniker, Autopsy Gremlin. On occasions, he liked being useful in the bullpen. What he casually mentioned while glancing at the plasma screen certainly helped the team with clarity in Jethro's personal case.
"Hey, that's Suzanne with Marisol?"
Gibbs turned to Palmer's direction, his eyes motioned for Tony DiNozzo to continue with the questioning. Tim McGee sat at the keyboard, awaiting to conduct a thorough search.
"Who's Marisol?"
"She went to the parish." Palmer answered. "Left about two years ago for college—UMBC."
Why didn't I ask Palmer? Jethro thought. She spent time with Palmer outside the workplace. They ran the same exercise trail, lifted and spotted one another at the local rec center. Also, Suzanne, Abby, Jimmy and Breena all attended Mass together at Trinity most weekends. The Palmers attended 11 AM Mass, just when Suzanne departed from 9:30 service. It was not unusual for the quartet to share a hearty breakfast/brunch at a nearby diner after service.
"Boss—Marisol Hilaria de la Gutierrez-Fuentes…Marisol Gutierrez…is 21 years old from Nahuatl-rural Guatemala." McGee flashed a portrait of Marisol as an early teen and the current college student. "Came to the United States at age 13 under SIJS…"
"Special Immigrant Juvenile Status…" Gibbs finished. "Suzanne knew those girls could be protected under SIJS or a 'U' status under a specific amount of time…It's why she never mentioned the Peace Corps."
"Palmer, you seen this picture?" Gibbs handed a portrait of Suzanne with the schoolgirls in Guatemala.
"Suzanne's studio, small frame, beside a Bible and rosaries." Palmer studied the portrait.
"That's Marisol, Elena and Gabriella. She never talked about her time in the Corps. Marisol and Nora did, always credited her for saving their lives."
"Those have been working on the Latin American junket for the President." Tony said, also referencing Claudia Bailey.
"Guatemala…that's where she spent her time in the Peace Corps." Vance said. He tossed a heavily darkened file across Jethro's desk.
"Official file—classified." The story was complicated, the Director explained.
"It was an emergency situation where the organization asked for volunteers to remain for humanitarian efforts. McNamara remained with the medical crew, worked on clean water initiatives and continued teaching English in the rural communities. She accidentally exposed one of the largest cartels in Central America. The people will remember Suzanne for being a hero." Vance said.
"Ziva infiltrated the cartel two, three years later under a covert."
"Suzanne made two copies of that photo, Agent Gibbs. One's with her and the original's in Williamsburg." Jimmy added.
"This isn't a coincidence."
"McGee, Bishop…" Jethro followed his intuitive gut. "See if you can find anything relating to rural Guatemala in the databases and cross-references."
"Going by the studio, boss?" He motioned for DiNozzo to gear up. Meanwhile, Jethro dialed from the main extension to Suzanne's personal cellphone.
"Claudia there?"
"On her way." Suzanne replied. "She's at Yellow Star."
"All three of you…stay at the house. Tony and I are on our way from MTAC." Jethro ordered. "We need you three there."
At promptly 8 AM, Claudia rang the side doorbell to Suzanne's home.
"Girl, don't ask me again to get groceries for you at the Star!"
"I went to Bullseye!"
"I ain't volunteer to check out of a self-service line either!" She grumbled. "The hell…you pick up groceries, bag 'em, take em out to your car…while the employees look at you?!"
"It's for the President."
"Next time, you go to Kingstowne for him! You live 10 minutes from Kingstowne!"
Claudia juggled the three paper bags. Suzanne grabbed the one covering her face. Immediately, Claudia remembered the details-the eyes, the flowing brown hair, exotic beauty. She knew exactly who the woman was inside the kitchen.
"Listen, I'm skipping the formalities here. Claudia, Ziva; Ziva, Claudia." Suzanne closed the curtains, motioned for Claudia to join her and Ziva inside the living room. "We'll all talk…later."
For preventive measures, she raised the volume to the CD.
"We're waiting for Jethro and Tony. They have a link to this case and they need us at MTAC…"
"Why all of this secrecy?" Claudia whispered.
How long….must I sing this song?
How long….must I sing this song?
How long? How long? How long? How long…must I sing this song?
"Your car might have been spotted at this house and the Star was a diversion." Suzanne explained.
"Wait a minute…someone's tailing me?!"
"There's a possibility." Suzanne whispered.
"Claudia, all this stuff between us and Jane have to do with a mission from years ago and our upcoming Latin America junket. That's why Ziva's here."
Suzanne heard the front door rattle. She motioned for the ladies to stand in the kitchen. Quickly she reached into the hallway closet, pushed several keys and retrieved her revolver. Claudia was surprised to see her colleague with weaponry.
"I didn't know Suzanne owned a gun."
"Guns—plural." Ziva replied. "She has three in this house."
"Remind me to not piss her off…"
"Harriet..." It was a nickname Tony bestowed on Suzanne after learning her knowledge of weapons.
"It's fine." Suzanne said. She unlocked the deadbolt; the two walked inside the home. Suzanne locked and placed the gun back into the lockbox.
It was Jethro and Tony at the other side of the door.
Tony stood in the doorway. Two women: his past, his present. He was, for once, speechless.
"Today, DiNozzo!" Jethro barked.
The women exited first, with DiNozzo standing in front keeping a watchful eye. Gibbs followed, ensuring the doors and surroundings were safe. As the women sat in the back, DiNozzo whispered to his supervisor.
"Thank you for allowing me to sit up front with you."
"You need to thank my wife." He chuckled.