I'm really glad you guys are enjoying this! I do not own NCIS...

Chapter 7

Ziva paced around the NCIS lab, terrified. Gibbs stood a few feet behind her with Fornell, and Abby and Tim frantically typed at Abby's computers, trying to find something, anything, that would help them find Tony.

Gibbs' phone started ringing and Gibbs did not recognize the number. "Yeah, Gibbs," he answered.

"Hello again, Agent Gibbs," Sergei said on the other end. Gibbs snapped his fingers loudly at his team and pointed to his phone.

"Starting a trace, Boss," Tim said quietly, "try to keep him talking."

Gibbs put the phone on speaker and laid it down on the table. "Where the hell is my agent?" Gibbs growled at him.

"Don't worry, I have not killed Agent DiNozzo... yet. He's a very interesting young man."

"It's gonna be even more 'interesting' when I kill you," Gibbs replied.

"You know Gibbs," Sergei said as Tim frantically tried to trace the call, "Your ex-wives are not the only people I have been keeping tabs on the last few weeks. I have been keeping an eye on your Special Agent DiNozzo as well. The two of you have a long history. It's funny... He seems to spend more time at your house than he does at home, or even with that lovely ATF Agent Zoe Keates. Always going over there with a six pack or a pizza... It is easy to see that he loves you as if you were his father... And you no doubt love him like he was your own son."

"What the hell is your point, Sergei?" Gibbs asked, looking up at Tim, who was still running the trace. Sergei's signal was getting bounced all over the world.

"How will it feel, Agent Gibbs, when I allow you to watch me kill your son? How will it feel for you when another one of your children dies? Like I said Gibbs, you mess with my family... I mess with yours."

"You'll be dead before you can kill Tony," Gibbs replied, trying to keep him talking. "You know, I haven't seen you since I almost strangled you to death in that apartment. What's the matter, Sergei? You afraid I'll get the upper hand again?"

"It's simple really," Sergei replied, "It is easy for me to find men who are willing to work. When I tell them about what you've done, they are all the more eager to help. You know, you've just given me a good idea... Maybe I should start recruiting... I'm sure it will be easy to find others that you have wronged... and I think I know just the person to start with. Agent DiNozzo has 72 hours to live. Check, Agent Gibbs." Sergei disconnected the call.

"I'm sorry, Boss, but he's using a sophisticated voice over internet protocol and bouncing his signal all over the world. I can't trace it."

"Damn it!" Gibbs growled. Ziva's phone suddenly started to ring. "Who is that?" He asked before Ziva could answer.

"I do not know, I don't recognize the number."

"That's Sergei!" Gibbs said as soon as he saw the number. It was the same number that he called Gibbs from.

"Why is he calling me?"

Gibbs sighed, "Because he wants to recruit you. Sergei only knows that you left NCIS. He doesn't know that you're back here helping us." Gibbs replied, and Ziva's eyes lit up.

"I guess Sergei has a new recruit then." Ziva said, and Tim and Abby looked at each other and smiled. They knew exactly what Ziva was doing.

She pressed the answer button on her phone, put it on speaker, and laid it on the table. "Shalom," she answered in a friendly, conversational tone.

"Shalom, Ziva. I do not know if you remember me. My name is Sergei Mishnev. I was..."

"Ari's friend." Ziva finished. "I do remember you, Sergei. It's been a long time. How are you?"

"I am fine, Ziva thank you. I was just thinking about Ari, and wanted to see how you were doing. Are you still with the American agency NCIS?" Sergei asked, feigning ignorance. He knew damn well that she wasn't.

Ziva laughed, "Ha! No. That was a nightmare, that place."

"Oh no, what happened?" Sergei asked, sounding concerned.

"Where should I begin?" Ziva laughed, "Well, first, as I'm sure you know, Agent Gibbs killed Ari, because they thought Ari killed one of their agents, which I still do not believe is true," she lied," "and then my father forced me to be their Mossad liaison officer and assigned me to his team! So I did what I was told and worked with them, and a few years later, Gibbs' Senior Field Agent shot and killed my boyfriend!"

"I'm so sorry, Ziva," Sergei said, and Ziva continued.

"I told Agent Gibbs that I did not trust Agent DiNozzo anymore, and that I thought one of us should be transferred to another team. Instead of doing that, Agent Gibbs fired me and sent me back to Israel!"

"They sound like very bad men, these Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo," Sergei replied.

"And that's not all! Then my father sent me on a suicide mission in Somalia to catch a terrorist. I booked passage on a cargo ship called the Damocles to take me to the Horn of Africa. My Mossad partner at the time shot a deserting US Marine, and the ship sank. We got to Africa safely, but I was captured by the terrorists in Somalia. The NCIS agents assumed that I had perished on board the Damocles, then stormed the terrorist camp and killed Saleem so they could return home as heroes. You can imagine their surprise when they found me there!"

"Indeed!" Sergei laughed.

Ziva looked up at Gibbs and winked, and Gibbs smiled at her. She was damn good. The best undercover agent that Gibbs had ever worked with. She knew exactly how to play on Sergei to make him sympathetic enough to her situation to recruit her.

"Well, since my father had left me to die in the desert and the NCIS agents found me and brought me back, I accepted an offer from them to return to the team as an Agent. After they interrogated me, of course."

"But Ziva, why would you work for them again after what they put you through?"

"Lack of options, I suppose. I needed a job and they were offering one."

"So then what happened?" Sergei asked, enraptured by her tale.

"So I became a full agent at NCIS, and then my father was killed while having dinner with the Director. A few years later, Gibbs was investigated by the Department of Defense."

"About time!" Sergei exclaimed.

"Yes! And I was strong armed by the other agents into resigning from NCIS with the promise that as soon as Gibbs was cleared of the charges, I would get my badge back."

"But it did not work out that way, did it?"

"No. The other agents were asked to return, and they told me that they believed I was better suited somewhere else. So I returned to Israel, and here I am."

"That must have been terrible for you Ziva. You must dream of taking revenge on these people."

"I dream of it every night," Ziva lied.

"Well, what would you say if I told you that I could give you a chance to exact your revenge on these agents?"

"I would relish that opportunity. Can we me somewhere?"

"Yes. Are you able to get to the US?"

"I can book a flight and be there in 16 hours."

"Call me at this number when you arrive in the United States. We will meet and I'll give you all of the details. It will be nice to see you again. I'm glad I can give you this opportunity. Shalom, Ziva."

"Shalom, Sergei."

Ziva ended the call sounding friendly and upbeat, then buried her face in her hands and cried. Gibbs immediately took her into his arms. "You still got it, kid. That was great," he whispered. "You're gonna get Tony back and we'll make this son of a bitch pay for what he's done. I promise you, Ziva. We will get Tony back safely."

TBC...