Thank you Alicori, Hetwaszoietsals, Debbie, BKeh and my two Guests
Guys, you are great! I'm very happy for every review no matter how short it is, especially if you write me about what you think of the story or what you like in it.
As you asked, here's the next part.
.
Coincidence
Team time
The day Mossad ambushed the terrorists.
Eli watched Terrorist No 2 through the mirror. Until their identities were confirmed they got only numbers. The man had his hands cuffed, additionally another cuff connected his ankle to the chair.
He did not seem to be frightened or even concerned; instead he displayed a façade of boredom. Normally Eli would let them wait for a few days to give their imagination the opportunity to conjure horrible future scenarios but this time they were lucky. Eli wanted answers. Now.
"Go inside" Eli ordered Officer Gheran who was chosen to interrogate this one, "let's see what he has for us."
No 2 looked up when Gheran entered.
He grinned. "Finally. Mighty Mossad decided to enter the game."
Gheran stayed calm and unmoving except tilting his head. "You think this is a game?"
"It is. The greatest game of all. That of life and death," he answered cockily.
"That means game over for you."
"Loose the battle, win the war. How's the little princess?"
"Who are you talking about?"
"Don't play stupid. Your miserable little assassin spy Zi-va."
Gheran leaned back, crossing his arms.
"You know, you really forgot to be 'professional' after you finally found her. You left us there, watching, I could see every detail. And I loved your faces when you lifted her out of the car. So shocked. It was hilarious, truly. A small compensation for that craven ambush. Why do I wonder? After all, you are cowards."
Gheran raised his eyebrow. "Then I suppose nine men against one bound woman, that's not craven?"
"She started attacking Saleem" he deflected quickly.
"So… you got Officer David from Saleem?"
"Saleem did like her very much." Again, he was taunting. "Called her his feisty little spy. We did not see much of that, though. It took some force to convince him to hand his little prisoner over to us. He did not like losing her…"
"And Al Hari thought he could blackmail us, once you brought her to him?"
"You would not have been able to ignore this. Your princess is the perfect hostage. But don't think it's over. He will find another way to destroy you."
"Be so kind to tell me: How does he plan to do this? That will be a difficult and complex task. And it will take more than one hostage." Gheran slowed his speech as if speaking to a child, trying to provoke him.
No 2 only smirked arrogantly, not answering to the bait. "Tell me, where is Daddy David? Am I not important enough for him?"
"That is none of your business."
His grin turned vicious. "Is he visiting his darling daughter? She's still out I suppose. That was heavy stuff Khalid shot her up with. But she will survive it, unfortunately. After all, we had no intention to kill her. Alive she was much more valuable – and much more amusing…"
"Where is Saleem's camp?"
"You would like to know that, wouldn't you?"
"Tell me about your cell."
"We were alone." No 2 tried to lie.
Gheran only shot him a mocking look. "You just confirmed you belong to Al Hari."
Anger flashed on his face then he caught himself. "He was looking forward to meet your little spy."
"Where's his place?"
"He will avenge us. And he will make you pay for the loss of his prisoner."
"Where did the weapons come from?"
"From a place you will never know of. But there's one thing I want you to know: we tested them. On her. We tied her to a post and shot at her. Missing of course. As I said, we did not want to kill her. It was not as amusing as we hoped but seeing her fear while looking down the gun barrel and flinching at every shot was great as well."
That day's interrogation was not resulting in anything.
oOo
Present time
Gibbs sipped his third coffee and looked over to his team.
Abby was currently seeking comfort in McGee's arms, overwhelmed by her feelings. She had talked a mile a minute, cried and laughed almost at the same time and now she looked strained, emotionally exhausted, black mascara all over her face. In his endless patience McGee took care of her, said the right things at the right time and provided a steady body to hold onto. In her exuberance she had first tried to cling to Ziva, thrilled and joyous to see her again but Ziva had recoiled, almost panicked, her whole being screaming 'no' and 'stay away' and 'don't touch me' in all but volume. After that Abby's mood had swung to the opposite, sadness and horror about what her friend must have faced made her sob desperately.
In contrast to that, Tony had brooded quietly, eyes never leaving Ziva's small form. He seemed unsure, indecisive about their relationship and Ziva had not helped to clear that at all. She had whispered a nervous 'Hello' and her usual 'I am fine' – no one believed her – otherwise she seemed content to listen to Abby's rambling and avoided eye contact. Nevertheless, she had relaxed slightly; the tenseness her body had been trapped in when they entered the room had decreased. Hope was not lost.
McGee was just himself, helpful and attentive. Sometimes Gibbs wondered if Timothy McGee was the only sane one on his team.
Tony was still suffering silently in his chair on the other side of the hospital bed, his face dark.
Ziva, the reason for this chaos of emotions in his team laid there motionless, pale and thin and evidently dead tired. Still she refused to sleep, fought against it. Her eyelids kept falling slowly until she opened them again, blinking.
Finally, the eyes stayed closed and Gibbs sighed and relaxed in his stand.
"I want at least one of you here all the time, understood? I'll go find a doctor and inform Ducky."
oOo
Two men are holding her in between them, their grip firm. Another one behind her ties a rope around her neck, the longer end of it is falling over her shoulder to the ground. He picks it up, holds it like a leash. He is telling the men to 'Let her go' and that he 'has her'. To prove it he pulls hard at the rope causing her to lose balance and she's stumbling backwards, towards him. Using the momentum – hate keeps her moving – she spins around and grips the rope, taking the pressure off her neck. A sharp tug and the rope is out of his hands and now he is losing balance. She holds the rope, still attached to her neck, in both hands and lunges to strangle him.
In a matter of seconds, the two others have her on her knees, the rope out of her hands and back in his and he is pulling her head backwards, the rope digs painfully into her throat, right under her chin. The ceiling is dirty, she notices absently, willing her mind to shut down but it's not working, it's just not working, the prospect of what is about to come is too severe. They tie her hands and parade her through the camp, call her a dog which belongs kept on a leash, laughing, laughing all the time.
She woke up crying from humiliation.
oOo
How is she, Jethro? Ducky's familiar voice came out of the speaker.
"I don't know, Duck. Physically she's bad but it will heal, the doc said. Broken bones and bruised skin and organs, sexually assaulted, dehydrated, starved and everything. She looks bad, Duck.
Oh my dear girl. Ducky sounded gravely appalled. Anything permanent?
"Doc says no."
Thank God. And how is she feeling?
"She does not talk, not much at least, she's just…" Gibbs sank down on a bench and rested his head on his free hand. "Do you remember PFC Joanna Fing? It was an eternity ago however… she just looks like her."
Young Joanna committed suicide if I remember correctly. Do you fear for Ziva to do the same?
"You're the doctor, Duck. You tell me." Yes, the thought had crossed his mind.
There's no way I can determine this from here. However, Miss Fing was alone after a terrible incident, no close friends and an uncaring family. Ziva is not alone, you are there for her so make sure she knows that.
"Half a year ago I would have laughed at anyone considering that. She's so different now."
That's not surprising, Jethro. Captivity is enormously stressful, and I don't want to imagine what atrocities she had to been submitted to.
Ducky hesitated then asked does she look at you, acknowledge your presence?
"Yes, sure, she's not absent but I don't know what to do with her, she's hurting and so fragile and I'm worried for her but still, I need some answers and I don't know how to get them without spooking her."
The trust issue, Jethro? Are you sure now is the right time for that?
Only silence answered.
Well then… get her away from the others, make her as comfortable as possible and then speak with her. Perhaps it helps both of you to get past this. However, Jethro…
His voice became urgent: remember she's vulnerable, so be gentle and careful, she might not be able to counter your standing as she would usually. Don't give in to the temptation to talk her down.
oOo
"Saleem! Stop it!" The sharp command cracks the hot air and the heavy, steel-caped boots stop kicking her. She almost sobs out of relief. He started as usual with insults and punches to the face and upper body, alternating actions and questions. After he got tired of that, the questions decreased instead he pulled out his knife but that did too much damage without giving him opportunity to vent so he started kicking aimlessly.
Now he towers above her, facing her, unmoving but furious, his hands are balled to fists. Then he spins around. One of the strangers stands behind him, backed up by three others she also does not recognize.
"You're NOT ordering me about what to do with MY prisoner!"
"Yes I do, Saleem." His voice is firm. "He needs her alive. You will leave now." Saleem does not move and the men behind the stranger shift their weight, hands on their weapons.
"I never thought you this low." Saleem hisses. "Go take the bitch then and run back to your master." He looks down at her broken, pain-twisted form with uncaring eyes and storms out.
Her vision begins to fade.
"Saïd, check if he has done something life threatening."
Someone approaches, forces her arms away to touch her head, her neck, her throat. She hears an unnerving low whimpering and it takes some time for her to understand the strange noise is originating from herself. She stops. Then the man starts to pry her open from her fetal position and the pain from that is just too much.
She woke up panting and whimpering.
oOo
Gibbs and DiNozzo stayed the night, stretched out in the comfortable cushioned armchairs the hospital provided – at least in this upper class, extra secured part of it. They doubted this kind of chair was to be found in the public section. Ziva slept most of the time, barely moving. In the middle of the night she suddenly started turning and they heard choked sounds, then foreign words –Hebrew? Arabic? While they still looked at each other, unsure if they should intervene, the choked sounds turned into crying. And they tried to wake her, to comfort her, to hold her but even half sleeping she was not reacting well to that – not at all, so they stayed back, helpless, until she fell asleep again.
The next day started slowly. McGee and Abby came around early in the morning, determined in their quest to keep Ziva occupied and distracted from her memories.
"You're coming home with us, yes?" Abby suddenly asked.
There was a kind of longing in her eyes. They hushed to Gibbs and Tony and McGee, but she only swallowed and stayed silent.
Abby seemed confused but adapted quickly and started to talk about the newest adventure with her bowling nuns, the new French restaurant that had opened in her neighborhood and how Major Mass Spec had ditched her a few weeks ago, because – as Abby told with conviction – he was proud and needed some praise here and there.
Gibbs, trademark coffee in his hand – an excellent one, by courtesy of the hospital, stood in the door, observing the room. Ziva sat on her bed leaning on the pillows and listening to Abby's stories. Her face was slightly turned towards her, the rest of her body strait. DiNozzo and McGee sat on her other side. She does not want to turn her back to anyone, Gibbs thought. Observe your opponent, discover their weakness, keep in mind there they are at any time. How many of her training rules she suppressed in D.C. were resurrecting now? He wondered if she had a gun or knives hidden somewhere. Should he check under her pillow before she'll kill someone accidentally?
Ziva was very anxious about distance and touches. Shaky as soon as someone was too close and did not accept touches by anyone but the female doctor, one of the nurses and sometimes Abby. Even then she tenses.
"McGee. Come over here." He gestured to another chair at the foot end of Ziva's bed. "DiNozzo. You look like crap. Go to your room and get some sleep."
"I'm not leaving Boss." Tony said determined.
"Yes you are, DiNozzo. You're no help here in that state. You're up almost 48 hours now. Get some sleep before I make you sleep."
Tony left grudgingly, looking at Ziva. "I'll be back soon," he promised. Gibbs followed him out.
When he returned, McGee had his newest book out, reading to the girls in his quiet, comforting voice. Gibbs listened silently, noticing that McGee seemed to skip some parts of the story here and there. Very considerate. He was proud of his young agent.
oOo
They have tied her hands to the railing of the jeep and she is standing next to it while the men enjoy the break and have something to eat. Without the steady dust cloud from the moving cars, the air is clean but hot.
She keeps close to the jeep for the sake of its shade, her back to the men. Her eyes fix the rough rope around her wrists, right at her head's height and she slowly rests her forehead against it. Her mind is focused on the men.
She woke up tense and fearfully.
oOo
Something woke her. A soft clicking. The door? Or had she dreamed that? Ziva looked around. She was alone, a rare sight since Gibbs, Tony, McGee and Abby had arrived. McGee's soft reading was still in her mind. She must have fallen asleep in the middle of it.
Again, the clicking sound. Yes, it was the door, Ziva thought and turned her head to it. It opened slowly, and a figure tried to sneak inside silently. He stopped upon seeing her looking at him.
"Ziva. You're awake." Tony said surprised but warmly.
"G'd morning Tony." She replied shyly.
On the inside, Tony suddenly grinned wildly like a madman. She talked again, to him, said his name. He almost bounced to the chair.
Ziva tilted her head and looked at him questioningly. "You look different. What happened?"
"Well, Sleeping Beauty, while you were… away, I realized something."
"And what?" Sleeping Beauty? She was not sleeping this much!
"That apparently, I couldn't live without you."
She could not decide if he was teasing or if his smile betrayed sadness. "So, what did you do?" Guilt clouded her voice.
"Drank myself almost stupid until Gibbs washed my head - literally. No, no," he deflected, "that's not your fault. After Gibbs told us of the sinking of the Damocles and your… death I just… regretted never telling you. That we never really talked and then Rivkin… What did you see in him anyway, Zee-vah? He was an arrogant, manipulative, drinking idiot!"
"He was not in the beginning, Tony," Ziva said sharply, "and I would appreciate if you keep your biased point of view to yourself."
"Sorry, Ziva." He apologized. "That was out of place. Still, what did you see in him?"
"Why are you so interested in Michael?" Her voice was almost defensively.
"Maybe I just want to know what he had but I not?"
Again, she couldn't decide if he was joking. After thinking for a second she decided to answer. "He was Mossad, Tony." Oh yes, he was, through and through.
"Meaning you need some big evil spy guy?"
"No," she answered harshly, "meaning he knew where I came from, understood my past and way of life. I have done things I am not proud of, Tony. But he is from the same world, a world you do not know and one I don't want you to know of."
"I don't care about your past mistakes, Ziva. I care about you now. Not Assassin-Ziva but Investigator-Ziva, Team-Ziva. People can change. The past may be unmoving, but you can come back with us, start anew. Who cares about your past? Leave it behind you."
That was some team time for you to read...
I'd be happy for some reviews!
:)
