On Your Six

Chapter Six - Ruse

A/N: Thanks for reviews! Cliffhangeritis indeed. :) There's a method to Tony's madness, but only some of it will be revealed in this chapter. I hope you all like it!

Spoilers: Season 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Anacostia Park, Washington, D.C., Five Minutes Earlier

She knew it wouldn't take them long figure out her identity, she thought as she toyed with her necklace and listened to the conversation in the lab. They were missing a few key revelations, though. It didn't matter, anyway. They could not stop it from happening. They probably couldn't believe their good fortune with so much evidence. And once she heard them figure it all out she'd have her revenge with the push of a button. It was the dramatic irony she knew Ari would have appreciated. Ari. The American princess had gotten what she deserved. And before she took on her biggest enemy, the great Leroy Jethro Gibbs and the fearless Ziva David would pay as well.

She shrugged fingering the button in her hand. She paused as she heard, "Of course you killing him took that option away from her, Ziva." She became alert. She wanted to hear what Officer David had to say to this. Let her deny it, she thought bitterly. Or would someone from that family tell the truth for once? What they didn't know that day in Gibbs basement was that Ari had had a camera on him, embedded in his eye. The digital images of Gibbs and Ziva standing over his dead body had been sent to her computer a few blocks away before the device disintegrated.

She waited for Ziva's response.

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NCIS Headquarters, Abby's Lab

At first, a stinging hurt had flooded Ziva upon hearing those words from Tony. Her eyes flew to him accusingly. Gibbs and McGee looked at him like he'd grown two heads.

Tony mouthed "trust me" and made a gesture for her to go with it.

Ziva locked eyes with him and realized he was trying to buy them time, betting that whether Miriam knew she'd killed Ari or not, she'd still want to hear her admit to it.

"I had no choice, Ari lied to me," She replied easily, her decision made, as she removed the battery compartment. Inside, next to the primary battery, instead of the secondary battery, there was the wired C-4 bomb and its digital monitor. The timer was not set. Ziva guessed that the bomb was remote operated and the bug was either in the fan compartment or the speakers. "I spent all my life looking up to him, trusting him more than our father."

"But still, he was your brother, Ziva," Tony prodded, his nonchalant tone belying the tense look on his face.

"But it meant nothing to him, obviously," Ziva said. "The one time my father told me something honestly, it was essentially to trust no one."

Gibbs half-listened to his agents' staged conversation, his mind racing trying to figure out every possibility to this situation. He knew that Jen had probably taken Cassidy with her to comb the area, looking for Miriam. Even though he'd wanted to smack Tony at first, he realized that it was the only way to buy time. This Miriam held their lives in her hand. Thinking of his dealings with Ari, Gibbs suspected that Miriam was playing with them, waiting for them to figure out the whole puzzle before she pulled the trigger. Determined to keep the ruse up as long as possible, he barked agitatedly, "Anything else, McGee?"

McGee, visibly sweating, said. "Ah, no Boss, still looking through some of her folders. Her computer's a mess."

Ziva looked at the sophisticated wiring in confusion. It wasn't a set-up she was familiar with. And she guessed Miriam knew this as well. The various wires were black, blue, and yellow, but there were three attached to the device that could trigger it. She looked up at McGee, then over at Tony and Gibbs. She couldn't risk them. But she knew they would not leave her there. She could make an educated guess, but suddenly it became important to Ziva to prove her father and Ari wrong. She could trust these people. She wouldn't let them die. The problem was how to maintain the conversation as they left the room. The force of this bomb could kill within a five-hundred-foot square radius in American measurement. It would be impossible to stay close enough that Miriam could still hear them talking and McGee typing, but far enough away to avoid death or serious injury.

"I know it's stupid," She began as she gestured to the compartment and shook her head, indicating that she could not disarm it, "but when I joined Mossad, I thought I could somehow save Israel or the world. But, really I couldn't even save my sister, or, of course my brother. There's no accomplishment beyond finishing one mission without dying and moving onto the next."

"What would your father say if he knew you killed Ari?" Tony asked, his curiosity compelling him as much as the need to continue the conversation. He and Gibbs moved across the room at the same time, both wanting to see the wiring for themselves. Ziva carefully moved from under the table as Gibbs moved to take her place.

Ziva thought of a reply to Tony's question. "I was his control officer." She stated flatly. "I failed my mission in every possible way. I did not realize he was a triple agent or that he had murdered Agent Todd. I did not know of this relationship with Westmoreland nor even now who this Miriam was to him." She paused as Gibbs vacated the space, shaking his head in frustration. "In Mossad, such an officer is a disgrace and a liability. I would not live long."

"Your father would allow it?" McGee asked with genuine disbelief as he and Gibbs switched places.

Ziva smiled a ghost of a smile. "He's the deputy director of Mossad. He cannot afford any weakness. Remember this is the same man who willingly sacrificed his son to Hamas and Al-Qaeda so he could have a mole. And it's not that I killed Ari. In Mossad's eyes, it is that I did not do it sooner. As his handler, I should have known and taken care of it years ago."

"Couldn't the same be said of your father, Ziva?" Tony asked as he took his shot at looking at the wiring of the bomb. It was indeed a sophisticated device. He hadn't expected any of them to be able to disarm it if Ziva couldn't. Listening to her talk, remembering their conversation outside the Embassero, he knew she'd encountered far worse than he ever had in his life or career.

"Possibly," she replied. "But making an example of me would go a long way to stem any dissent."

Unfolding himself from under the counter, Tony stood and sighed. They all looked at each other grimly.

"Hey, Abby, why don't you run that last piece of footage again?" Tony said with a shrug, hoping Miriam wouldn't think much of the lack of response.

"Sure, Tony." Abby said as she re-entered the lab, receiving looks of dismay from everyone. She put her finger to her lips and shook her head. She held up a small tape recorder. She placed it an approximate distance from the laptop on the work station . "I'll show you the surveillance from the outside of the university building as well."

She pushed play on the machine. Immediately, the sound of Jen's voice filled the room, asking a question in regards to the very footage Abby just mentioned. Abby's voice replied back. The tape continued, including comments from Ducky, Palmer, and Cassidy.

Ziva grabbed a surprised Abby, giving her quick hug. Gibbs gestured to door, indicating they leave immediately.

They hurried as quietly as possible out of the main lab and into the corridor towards the stairway door. Abby pushed the heavy door open. As they ascended the second flight of stairs, Ziva, trained to hear the first sounds of a bomb detonating, yelled: "Hurry!" She looked back at Tony once, before she felt her body propelled forward by the force of the explosion.

Then there was darkness.

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Anacostia Park, Thirty Minutes Earlier

She was not surprised as she listened to Ziva's words about Ari and her father. No doubt the deputy director would kill even his own daughter to maintain order in the Mossad. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction, however. Once she was done with Eli David, he would know the pain he had caused. He would feel it.

She was disappointed that this vaunted team of agents still had not figured out her full identity. She looked at her watch, noting that twenty minutes had passed as she listened to Ziva talk. As far as she was concerned, the Mossad officer was just as guilty as her father and brother. It was now almost an hour and half since they'd held all the keys to solve the puzzle. She heard their director ask for various footage from the surveillance system. She became suspicious. There was an odd quality to the voices that was not present before. She could not here any typing on the laptop.

Distracted, she did not see the two figures approach the from either side of her black sedan.

She furiously pushed the button, watching in satisfaction as the lab exploded sending balls of fire out onto the street.

Sheppard acted first, shooting the woman in the side from the passenger window as Cassidy broke the driver's side window, grabbing her in a headlock before she could react any further. As Cassidy opened the door from the inside and cuffed the angry woman, Sheppard dialed Fornell's number giving him the go ahead to bring in his brigade. She and Cassidy had been lucky to sneak out of the building undetected. She'd assumed that all the main entrances were under surveillance by the suspect or suspects. There was no knowing if Miriam was acting alone or with help. She would not take the chance, so she'd battled with Fornell to await her okay to proceed.

She only hoped the tape had given them enough time to get as far from the lab as possible. She watched the flames and smoke pouring out of the NCIS building, unwanted tears building in her eyes as she heard the sirens approaching.

She shook her head, trying not to think of the any other scenario or of Jethro, as she heard Cassidy reading Miriam Kaufmann her Miranda rights.

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NCIS Headquarters, the Stairwell between the Basement and Main Floors

Ziva's head hurt as she opened her eyes into the darkness of the stairwell. She was lying half on the stairs and half on the landing. Confusion overtook her for a moment before she remembered where she was and what had happened. As she tried to sit up, someone put a gentling hand on her shoulder.

"Ziva, be careful, my dear," Ducky's soothing voice broke through the fog in her head. "I'd rather not move anyone until I have the aid of the paramedics, but this smoke is too heavy." She looked around her, seeing Palmer attempting to rouse Tony. "Tony?" She croaked.

"He's alive," Palmer said, as he felt his pulse on his neck. "Just unconscious. Some cuts from the glass fragments. He probably absorb more of the blast than anyone, since he was the last one going up the stairs. He's got an abrasion on his temple. He might have hit his head on the railing."

"Don't move him just yet, Mr. Palmer. I'll take Ziva first and come back to help you. We need to get Tony immediate attention," Ducky said worriedly. "Head injuries are a serious business."

Ziva moaned a bit as Ducky helped her to feet, telling her to lean on him as helped up the last step and out into main office area of NCIS.

"The others?" Ziva asked, her throat dry. She began to cough.

"All accounted for, Ziva." Ducky replied, indicating the other figures of Gibbs, Abby, and McGee, laying and sitting on the floor. "Lots of bruises and cuts, probably some smoke inhalation, but they appear okay. I believe being in the second part of stairwell saved everyone's life. Even though the fire from the explosion eventually destroyed the door to the stairs and much of the lower part, I believe it greatly reduced the force of the blast. I want to get you all to Bethesda as soon as possible, however."

"Ziva!" Abby exclaimed in much weaker voice than normal. She attempted to sit up, but her right leg appeared to bother her. "Where's Tony, is he okay?"

"He's unconscious, but alive, Abby." Ducky responded. "Now lie back down, I mean it. And be careful of your arm, McGee." The young agent groaned a bit, his attempt to sit up on his left arm failing.

Seconds after Ducky's admonishments, FBI agents, along with the SWAT team swarmed into the main area. The paramedics and fire department followed closely behind with their equipment. After seating Ziva carefully on the floor and telling her to lie down as well, Ducky quickly moved toward the paramedics, leading them to the stairwell to take Tony first.

Ziva watched as Gibbs coughed and stared after the retreating backs of the paramedics with something that looked like dread in his eyes. She knew he was afraid that he was going to lose another agent. But maybe a son as well? Ziva had only been at NCIS a day, but she could see that Gibbs ran his team the way a father would his family in some aspects. A marine father, perhaps, but still a family. She doubted he realized it.

"Gibbs, Ducky said we shouldn't move around," Abby said, watching him struggle to get to his feet.

"I'm fine, Abby," Gibbs stated. He didn't like the worry in Ducky's voice in regards to Tony. Not to mention that Jen and Cassidy were not accounted for yet. It was not in his nature to sit around and wait. A feeling of utter fury and guilt built within him, the same he'd felt right after Kate's death as he tracked Ari. Woman or not, he vowed that Miriam Kaufmann or whoever was responsible would pay for their crimes. He looked around, scanning for a particular face in the sea of FBI agents. "Fornell! Where the hell is Director Sheppard and my agent?"

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Rosemeade