Chapter 3
Making their way back to the bull pen, Aminah went towards the sisters. "We are finish." The sisters looked at each other. "Are you sure?"
"Agent David has everything that she needs unless agent Gibbs has more questions for me?" Gibbs looked at her trying to make her out, to study her, his gut telling him something was not as it seems to be; but he will need some time to figure it all out. He knew that the woman standing in front of him has something to do with Ziva. "No, if we need anything we contact you."
"Of course, I gave agent David all of my contact details." Ziva was now standing beside Gibbs, her arms crossed and eyes looking at the floor. "Thank you...Oh agent Gibbs?"
"Yeah?"
"Did he suffer?" Gibbs again looked at her no matter what his option of this woman is there was no mistaking the love that shone in her eyes for the dead marine. He in a way told her the truth. "He put up a hell of a fight. For a fight he couldn't win." Aminah smiled and thanked him once again before she and the sisters left. Turning to Ziva he asked. "You know her?"
"No..." Ziva lied. "You took a long time getting back out here plus since she arrived you couldn't take your eyes of her."
"It effected her a lot, she was sick." She lied again. "I see... Remember I gave you many chances to come clean with me to be honest with me. What ever that it is going on with you, you are on your own. I'm going to see Ducky maybe he has answers for me... Tony..."
"I'll go down to see Abbey and give her the samples and see if we have any matches..."
"McGee..."
"I go through his phone and mobile records along with our first victim to see if there any numbers that connect the two."
"Okay..." He than turn his back on them and prepare to head for Ducky's morgue. "Gibbs what do you want me to do?" Without stopping he briefly turned his head. "I don't care, just do something." Frustration clearly detected in his voice. Looking around her and seeing both McGee and Tony's eyes on her, she didn't say anything to them and sat back at her desk. "What?" She snapped at them. "Nothing, nothing at all... Going to take these down to Abbey..."
In Ducky's morgue both Ducky and Palmer were over the dead marine's body going over it like a fine comb. "Got anything for me Duck?"
"Ah Jethro, Mr Palmer and myself have been going over this body, like with our first victim bullet hole in the head, face skinned to the bone, teeth pulled out. Body is badly damage to distinguish what was used, how many times it was use and if there were more than one type of weapon used. We need to stop this monster before anymore bodies turn up."
"We will Ducky, we will." Gibbs said with more confidence then he felt.
Gibbs arrived back at the bull pen. "Okay somebody tell me you got something anything."
"Abbey couldn't find any matches for the samples that we took. But she will let me know a.s.a.p when something does come up."
"McGee, anything?"
"Sorry boss nothing. I checked both out victims' phone and mobile records. Nothing came up to suggest that they knew each other or had anything else in common. No patterns to follow, no leads it looks like the victims were chosen at random."
"Ziva?"
"I had checked both the taxi firm and the restaurant that Miss Asif and her fiancée used..."
"And?..."
"And they both said that they were in high spirits and caused no trouble." Gibbs looked at each one of his team, given them the 'stare' which made them all sit back down. "So let me get this straight, you are all telling me that with all the evidence that we all collected... a) both cases have no links to one another, no connection made and b)we heading for a unsolved case. Is that what you three are telling me?"
"Ummm..."
"I would not..."
"WELL?" Gibbs shouted he had reached boiling point these marines deserve peace, their families deserve answers and closure but now it doesn't look like that will be happening anytime soon. "ANSWER ME!" It was Tony that was brave enough to speak up. "Well boss... I'm sorry but without making any connections between the two victims or getting some sort of a match for where to start looking for a lead we have nothing to go on."
Gibbs turned to Ziva noting that she was avoiding all eye contact with him, with one last look at her he stormed off and storm up the stairs and heading for director Vance's office. Ziva got up from her desk and grabbed her things. "Ziva?" Tony called out. "Where are you going?"
"I am going for an early lunch... I need fresh air to clear my head, to look at this with fresh eyes."
"Okay, just be in reach if we need you."
"I'll will..." As she headed off Tony followed her with his eyes sensing a familiar feeling that he has been in this situation with her before.
Gibbs stormed into Vance's office pushing past his sectary. "Gibbs please, why do you come in. Always a pleasure."
"Tell me everything."
"About what?"
"About Eli David..." Vance sat back at his big leather chair with interest. "Why the sudden interest all of a sudden? You know what he is like. You meet him yourself."
"I want to hear about him from your point of view." Vance sighed. "Is this about Ziva David?" It was Gibb's turn to sigh. "She's hiding something from me, something that could jeopardise this case. I need to know if Eli is connected to this in any way."
"Gibbs, Ziva and Eli have not spoken since her return, you know that she had to renounce all of her ties with MOSSAD to be a permanent agent here and that includes her father. From what I read about the case this has nothing to do with Eli. He is not that callus."
"Not that callus? He trained both his son and daughter to become killing machines. He forced Ziva into a situation to prove her loyalty to him. Then when he she needed him, he left her to die. That's not being callus?"
"Gibbs... Ziva made a decision to stay with us. Of course Eli wasn't happy about that but he has accepted it and moved on. I can tell you that this case has nothing to do with Eli." Gibbs looked at Vance at his body language, manner and eyes showing that he truly believes that Eli had nothing do with this and he finally calm down. "Take a seat Gibbs and talk. What is it that getting you so riled up?"
"It's this case, those marines didn't deserve to die like that. I know that they are both connected but we don't have the evidence to back it up let alone any suspects. Their families deserve some sort of answer but I don't have anything to tell them. I'm afraid that this is the one case that I will not be able to close any time soon."
"What has this got to do with Ziva?"
"She knows something and she is hiding that from me."
"Gibbs, she is going through a transition, from being a killer to becoming an investigator, her past is murky. She has done things that she realises now that there have been a better way to deal with it. That she had a choice. I know how you feel about her and about your entire team and I know that you don't want to hear this but you have to give her breathing space."
"I know, but she has also made a lot of enemies along the way and that's what worries me the most."
Ziva was at the alleyway where she was set up. She looked around her. "Three men surrounding me, guns had been drawn. Bullets in their heads, clean direct hits, missing me. The shooter needed a clear open view and needed to be quite a distance away." She looked around her again. She needed to narrow down the search as she saw a number of abandon buildings and warehouses that any of them could have been used. It will take her ages to place it down to one.
She needed help, she needed to see Abbey.
TBC... What do you think so far?
Thanks for reading
