"You found out why Aamir was trying to kidnap Hadara?", Tony asked.
"You know who Hadara's father is?", Ziva asked.
Abby huffed in aggravation. "I didn't say I have all of the answers, but I know where Aamir is. I was tracing his phones, but I had to do each one individually and then eliminate certain ones based on cross referencing th-"
"Abby.", Gibbs said to focus her on the point and fast forward the story to the end.
"Right. The point is I know where he is!", she said gleefully. Everyone ran to their desks to gear up while Abby gave Gibbs the information she had found.
They drove to the small house in Anacostia and exited the vehicle. "Ziva, Tony, take the back. McGee, with me.", Gibbs ordered as he ran to the front door. Tony and Ziva followed orders and went to the back door. They waited for the signal, and Tony kicked the door in at the same time Gibbs gave the front door the same treatment. "Federal Agents!", Gibbs yelled into the house.
Aamir had been going over some new plans to get the girl when his house was invaded by cops from both exits. He stood and pointed his gun at Gibbs, then McGee, then Ziva, then Tony, but he wasn't sure where to train the weapon. "That's a bad idea, Aamir.", Gibbs yelled to the man aiming a gun at him.
"I will shoot you.", he yelled back in a thickly accented voice. He looked between the four agents, but his gun hand held steady. His gaze lingered on Ziva for only a half second longer than everyone else, but they all noticed.
"There are four of us and one of you. You might be able to get off one shot before you have twenty bullets in you. Do you like those odds?", Gibbs reasoned. Aamir was blatantly staring at Ziva at that point, and she had the feeling that he wanted to tell her something. Aamir sighed and lowered his weapon. Gibbs cuffed Aamir and led him back to the car.
When they arrived back at the navy yard, Aamir was immediately taken to an interrogation room. Gibbs made him wait for nearly an hour before entering the room and sitting across from Aamir. He laid a file on the table in front of him and watched Aamir closely for signs of agitation or nervousness. "Why did you try to take the girl?", he asked calmly.
Aamir looked up at him quickly, because he was worried about how much the agent before him knew. "I have nothing to say to you.", he answered. He had wanted to abandon the mission, but he had to keep his promise from so many years ago.
"You beat this woman into a coma, so you could take her daughter from her! Do you like little girls? Is that why you tried to take her?" Gibbs was towering over Aamir, and his voice had risen to an angry growl.
"That is sick! I can not believe you would say that of me!" Aamir had also stood, but Gibbs' mere presence made Aamir seem like he was standing next to a twenty foot tall tree.
"Then why?!", Gibbs demanded. He banged his hand on the table to emphasize his question, but Aamir only stared at him.
Aamir took a deep breath and sat down slowly. He closed his eyes and focused on not saying too much in the heat of his anger. "Agent Gibbs, I have a mission, and you will not goad me into divulging any pertinent information." Aamir and Gibbs stared each other down, neither refusing to be the first to break eye contact.
"By mission, you mean as a terrorist? You want to use her in some attack, because she's young and won't be suspected?"
Tony and McGee watched from the observation side of the glass and waited for Aamir to break or give away more than he intended. "This guy doesn't seem like a terrorist. There were no explosives or plans in his house, and he's not acting like the terrorists we've seen."
"True, he's not being arrogant or talking incessantly about religion or killing Americans.", McGee observed in agreement. They watched as Aamir and Gibbs stared each other down in silence. Aamir was more guarded and thought about what he would say before speaking it. He wasn't ranting or yelling at them about their stupidity.
"I wish to speak with Ziva David. She is an agent here, yes?", Aamir said finally. He knew that he would fail his mission now. Whether he spoke on the subject or not, he would still go to prison for at least attempted murder, breaking and entering, and who knows what else for pulling his gun on federal agents and running. He had to tell her though, because she was the only person he could trust with his information.
"You don't need to talk to her. You'll be on the next plane to Gitmo unless you can tell me something to prove that you're not a terrorist.", Gibbs answered coolly. He was not one to give into a criminal's demands or provide favors to terrorists. When Aamir didn't say anything, Gibbs rose from his seat and walked to the door. "Enjoy the guards at Gitmo. I've heard great things."
"Wait!", Aamir yelled just as the door was nearly closed. Gibbs smiled to himself before turning back into the room. They always fell for that trick, and he would never understand why criminals were so scared to call his bluff, but he liked it that way. "I must speak with Ziva. It is about a family matter that she will want to know of.", he said.
Gibbs didn't like the vague answers and demands to see Ziva after watching Aamir stare her down when they were bringing him in. "I'll get the information to her.", he told Aamir from the door way. The last thing he needed was to put Ziva into some dangerous situation or in the presence of a possible stalker.
Aamir shook his head and laughed humorlessly. "You are not understanding. She will not want to hear this from anyone else. My guess is she will not wish to hear it at all, but she needs to, because it concerns family." Gibbs considered his options, and Tony and McGee were shocked when he agreed to allow Ziva to talk to Aamir.
They followed Gibbs to the squad room, voicing their objections and worries the entire entire way. They told him that it was a bad idea to send her in there with Aamir and that they would go instead. Tony and McGee knew very well that Ziva could protect herself, but that didn't stop them from wanting to keep her from being hurt. Gibbs turned on them suddenly, and the agents nearly walked into their boss. "He could have an accomplice somewhere, and we need Ziva to get information out of him."
"Ziva.", Gibbs said as he walked into the bullpen area and saw that she was playing with Hadara. She and Hadara looked up at him curiously with the exact same expression on their faces. "Aamir says he will only talk to you."
She nodded and took Hadara off her lap. "I have to go talk to someone, but you can stay here with Tony and Tim, okay?", she said to Hadara carefully.
The girl had become well acquainted with all the members on Team Gibbs, so she had no problem when she was sent to visit Ducky or Abby. She nodded and walked to where Tony and McGee were standing. "Look what I drew.", she said to them. Neither man could remain impassive at the sweet voice of the little girl before them.
Ziva went back towards the interrogation rooms. She went into the room with Aamir, and Gibbs stayed back in the squad room to give her privacy. He hated not knowing what was happening with one of his agents, but this wasn't his information to get. "Ziva, it is good to finally meet you.", Aamir said kindly when Ziva entered the room.
"I can not say the same of you.", she responded in a cold, even voice.
Aamir watched her lean against the wall and was sure this was the woman who had been mentioned to him. "I have information for you that you will be needing to know. It is about Hadara.", he told her.
Ziva was confused as to why this man was being so open with her when his answers to Gibbs had been vague wisps of a possible answer. "Start at the beginning, the night you tried to take Hadara from her home.", she told him.
Aamir took in a breath and prepared to tell his story. "The beginning is much further back than that night. Your brother Ari called me seven years ago and said that he had to speak with me. He told me about his betrayal and Agent Gibbs. He said that I must leave my place in hiding and come to America to help him."
"Help him kill Agent Gibbs? That is what he was trying to do seven years ago." Ziva wanted to keep him talking, because he had begun to look unsure of himself once he had started.
"He told me of his vendetta and said that either he or Agent Gibbs would die. He was sure he would live but wanted me there in case he did not. He told me of a woman who was to have a baby. Her husband had been a friend of Ari's who was helping him in the states, but the friend had been killed. He wanted me to take the girl if he were to die as well and hide her from Mossad. He was sure that his father would have the girl killed like his mother was, so I agreed to protect the girl."
Ziva couldn't believe Ari had asked for protection for Hadara, and he had said nothing to her about a baby. "Why did you not get her? She was taken by another family."
"She was born two months before Ari's death and had already been adopted by the time I was able to discover her mother's location. After discovering that the records had been destroyed, I had to track her down using other methods. It took all these years to find her, and I was so close. I was unable to keep my promise.", he said sadly.
"What were you to do with her then, if you were not to make her a martyr or mule?", Ziva questioned again.
"My orders were to keep her away from Israel and Eli David. Ari told me that if I failed, I was to tell you of Hadara. Only if you were no longer a Mossad officer, and you are not."
Ziva was silent for a moment. Nothing added up in her mind. Ari had asked his friend to protect Hadara, but that made no sense. "I do not understand. Why would Ari order you to protect another man's child?", she asked more to herself.
"I know the reason! I have discovered the lies Ari told me. When I saw you today, everything came together, because you look alike, you and Ari. Hadara is his child, your niece! But there is more to it than that."