Thank for the reviews guys. I'm going to start posting this a little quicker so I can finish it up before the season starts.
Note: Ok so this picks up Thursday morning in Tel Aviv. I actually went to look up flights from D.C. to Tel Aviv to see how long it would really take. So this would be mid-morning on Thursday.
Chapter 3: The Tel Aviv Café
Tony's plane landed. It had been the longest flight he had ever taken, but he didn't care. He had slept through a lot of it and tried to stop thinking about what could go wrong for the rest of it. He talked to a nice old lady on the first leg of the flight which landed in London. He slept most of the second leg. But now he was here in Tel Aviv. He was that much closer to Ziva.
As he got off the plane and went to collect his luggage he repeated in his mind the little mantra he had created on his flight. I will find her. I have to find her. 'I never even told her I loved her! How stupid am I?! I should have known that this could happen at any time. But I'll find her. And this time I'll tell her' he thought as he pushed through the crowd and picked up his duffel bag.
Tony walked out of the airport and caught a cab. He showed the address of his hotel to the driver who nodded and took off toward the tall building. Upon arriving he told Tony how much the fare was in American.
"Toda," Tony said as he got out of the taxi. He loved using the Hebrew phrases Ziva had taught him.
"Al-Lo-Davar," the driver replied.
"I'm sorry, would you mind waiting a few minutes. I'll be right back." The driver nodded. Tony rushed in, checked in and gave his bag to man who would take it to the room. He rushed outside and back to the cab. He handed the driver the address to the café and they took off. They arrived and he paid the fare. Tony walked in and ordered his coffee and began filling it with cream and sugar.
"Excuse me," Tony asked the barista, "Have you seen this woman around here in the past couple of months?" He nodded. He seemed a little wary of talking to him. "She may be in grave danger. Do you know where she lives?" He shook his head fervently. The barista leaned over the counter and motioned for Tony to lean in so he could whisper to him.
"She comes in every day, same time. Wait forty minutes, she will be here." The barista instructed in a low whisper. Ziva probably scared the poor man to death. So he waited, he sat on a worn out sofa that made for a poor target from the street but still allowed him a peripheral view of the door. Forty minutes later, as if on cue, Ziva entered the café.
Ziva got out of her car, locked it and walked into her favorite café. They had the best scones she could find. They reminded her of the ones she would sometimes buy for breakfast at the little café on her way to work. She had gotten back only a week ago from her second mission since the split. They were suicide missions and she knew it, her father knew it, everyone knew Mossad was trying to get rid of her, but she was just too good at surviving. And she didn't want to believe that the agency which had welcomed her back so quickly would try to get rid of her again.
She walked in and took in her surroundings. There was only one person she hadn't seen there in the past week. Everyone else was a regular. The man did not look Israeli, he had sandy brown hair and was reading a book. She smiled when she saw the title. He was reading The Bourne Ultimatum. Tony loved that movie. She smiled. 'He looks very much like Tony. No. That is crazy. He can not possibly be Tony. I am only imagining things because the book reminded me of him.' Ziva thought as she tried to rationalize his likeness to her former partner.
She got her coffee and her scone and sat down at a small table against the wall. She made sure she was not much of a target from the street. Apparently the man did the same. He was not a good target from the street but was able to see the door in his peripherals. It was something she might have done if she was waiting for someone. She glanced over at him while taking a sip of her coffee at the exact same moment he glanced up from his book to look at her. Their eyes met, he wore a small smile and nodded to the seat next to him.
She got up from her seat. 'Oh my God. This is impossible. He really is here! But why is he here? I hope everything is alright.' Her thoughts became more and more concerned as she got closer and then she sat down next to him, setting her coffee and scone on the table where he had just set his book. She smiled up at him but he was not smiling back.
"Tony…" she began. He put a finger over her lips to silence her.
"Not here. We need to go somewhere safe to talk." Tony said in a half whisper. She nodded grabbing her coffee and scone and leading him out the door to her car. She performed her usual check for an obvious tracking device or car bomb before unlocking the doors and motioning for him to get in.
Tony was happy he had found her so quickly and he was unbelievably glad to see her in good health. The comfortable silence that filled the car calmed Tony's anxious nerves. She drove for a long time, they were in a normal residential neighborhood when they stopped in front of a simple blue house. They got out of the car and walked up to the front door. Ziva pulled out a lock pick set and had the door open in seconds.
"Breaking and entering?" Tony asked with raised eyebrows. Ziva shook her head smiling slightly.
"Safe house. With Mossad skills they really do not need keys."
"We can't talk here. We need to get to a place where Mossad is least likely to be able to listen in." Ziva was a little taken aback but complied. She drove on for another thirty minutes or so until they came to an old industrial building. It was small, in a not well known or traveled neighborhood. When they entered it was obvious that this was Ziva's own safe house. Everything was arranged tactically and he was sure there were weapons hid in every room.
"Mossad does not know about this place. What do you need to tell me, and why are you being so secretive, Tony?"
"I don't know where to where to begin." He said sitting on the couch with her.
"Begin at the beginning." She said softly, trying to encourage her best friend, former partner, and the man she loved to tell her what had made him so paranoid.
"Well on Saturday I sat down to check my email and there was an anonymous message telling me that I had exactly two weeks to get you out of Israel and back to the states. I convinced a friend of mine to help get me off the Reagan. So right now, I'm technically UA. They said if I took more than two weeks or told anyone about this they would kill you. They said you weren't the same officer you were before NCIS. They couldn't risk you being a liability. And I couldn't risk them killing you by waiting for authorization." He got it all out as quickly, quietly, and honestly as he could. He looked downcast. He was afraid for her.
She could see how it pained him. He was obviously scared, but he would never tell her that. She could see something other than the fear in his eyes. It looked like, concern maybe? Why else would he fly halfway around the world and risk his life just to keep her safe.
"Who sent it?"
"It was sent from an account that was activated and deactivated on the same day in the café I found you in. It was registered to John Doe. Abby couldn't give me anything more than that. I crashed at her and Tim's apartment Tuesday night. We have to get out of here and back to D.C. Gibbs'll know what to do. I checked into a nice hotel. Figured they would expect a crappy motel. Don't worry; I'm Tommy DiNardo as far as they are concerned." Ziva nodded. They got up and gathered a few of Ziva's things and drove to the hotel. Tony didn't exactly know the name of it, but he was able to describe the building well enough for her to guess what hotel it was.
He added 'Lisa DiNardo' to his room registration and led her to the elevator. They made their way down the third floor hallway to room 315. It was a very nice room. Tony made his way to the nightstand to check the time. Abby and Tim would be at work. He dialed in for the international call.
"Abby Sciuto, Forensic Scientist Extraordinaire, how may I help you, 'International Caller'?" Abby answered from the other end, addressing Tony by the caller ID.
"Get Tim and Gibbs. No one else. I'll hold." Tony replied. A few moments later Abby came back on the phone.
"You're on speaker, Tony. Timmy and Gibbs are here."
"What's going on, Dinozzo?" Gibbs barked into the phone.
"Well that's sort of a long story Boss. I'll tell you all when we get there. Oh hold on I'm gonna put you guys on speaker." He did so before addressing them all again. "Ok guys, there is someone here who wants to say 'Hi.'" He motioned Ziva over. She sat down next to him on the bed leaning over him to be closer to the phone. She felt like if she could get closer to the phone then she would be somehow closer to them.
"Hey guys! I have missed you!" Ziva said happily into the phone. She looked up at Tony who had his ears covered. She was confused by this until she finished speaking and Abby's piercing squeal resounded through their hotel room. Ziva smiled.
"Zivaaaaaa!!"
"Good to hear your voice Ziva!"
"Nice to finally hear from you David."
"Ok, guys we need a little help. We need to get out of the country and back to D.C. as quietly as possible. We have eight days to be out of here. Do what you can." Tony gave them the name of the hotel, with Ziva's help, and the room number. They promised to get them out. They said 'goodbye' and 'see you soon' and hung up.
Almost as soon as they hung up Ziva had zoned out. She stared at the base board across from the bed. Tony looked down at her, worried. He thought he saw a tear threatening to betray her cool exterior. He touched her shoulder gently and she didn't hurt him so he continued.
"Ziva?" He asked softly. She turned to face him and he saw the tears. It seemed that one blink and she would lose it. He pulled her close to his chest, slightly surprised when she complied and even responded. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, trying to regain her composure. Tony stroked her hair and held her, waiting for her to tell him what was wrong. She would have to tell him everything if they were going to get out of this together. Slowly her tears subsided and she loosened her hold on him. She looked up into his face. Her face was tear-streaked, tired, and scared and Tony still thought she was the most beautiful thing ever. She finally found her voice to tell him what was wrong.
"My father wants me dead."
Note: Maybe Ziva crying in the hotel room is a little out of character but I think that anyone who figures out that their father not only wants them dead, but hired the people they work with to kill them and then told the person they love that they have two weeks to live unless they are saved would probably be crying. Maybe out of despair, anger, desperation, fear, something. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think.