Chapter Seven
In the blue darkness of the bedroom, Tony and Ziva lay in the bed. His mind was racing from subject to subject and from regret to love. She cuddled up close to him, as he lay on his back. Positioning herself so that her lips almost touched his right ear, she began to whisper to him.
"My father and Vance sent me. I do not trust my father, but Vance and Gibbs want you to live through this. Besides me, Gibbs has come, but he must stay off the radar. My father does not know he is here," she told him.
Tony turned on to his side, so that he was facing her. Is she here only because of the operation? Did she sleep with me because it cements her cover? He pushed these thoughts out of his head. If he was going to survive this mess, he could use her help.
"Michael is about to fall the edge," he whispered. "You should take him and leave."
"I came for you not him," she said.
"He is supposed to kill Bonaparte now before I get the external hard drive. This hard drive has everything. We need it. It has names, sales, and bank accounts. With it, the network is shut down for good. Without it, someone can step into Jospin's role," Tony told her. "I think Michael's drinking is interfering his reasoning. You have to help him."
"I told you, Tony, I came for you not him," she said.
"But he's your boyfriend," Tony said.
"You are the man I love. He is a mistake," she said.
"Zi, if you love me then why did you shut me out two years ago?" he asked.
"I feared for your life. My father made threats," she whispered then snuck a quick kiss.
"And what is the difference now?" he asked.
"I have Gibbs on my side," she smiled. "And Vance."
"Jospin has some kind of plan for me. He likes me. I have to keep Michael from killing Jospin in the hopes I can get the external hard drive," he said.
"Once you have it Gibbs and I have a way out for us," she said.
"How?" he asked.
"In Israel the best way to deal with secretive terrorists is to sign a bright light on them. Show them for who they are," she said then kissed him again.
When the kiss broke off, Tony looked into her brown eyes.
"You confuse me," he said. "I don't know if I can trust you."
"I understand," she said. "If you don't trust me then trust Gibbs."
"Does the bastard remember who I am now?" he asked.
"He remembers everything now. He has missed you," said Ziva.
"When this is done, I go back to Rota and you go back to DC," he said.
She kissed him again: "We'll see."
"What do we do about Michael?" Tony asked.
"We try and control him. It will be difficult, though. I doubt that he trusts me now," she said.
"He's out there on the edge ready to fall off," Tony said. "If he didn't kill people who shouldn't have, I'd feel sorry for him, but he keeps killing instead of thinking now."
"That is who he is. He is the sharp end of the spear," she said sadly.
That was who she used to be. Sharp ends of the spear didn't think, they killed. They reacted to situation and did what their training told them what to do. She no longer wanted to be the sharp end of the spear.
"I afraid he is going to act too soon," said Tony.
"Ahuvi, stop worrying. We will deal with it together now," she said "Now sleep. I am not leaving you."
"You should leave. This has all the earmarks of a potential FUBAR," he said.
"FUBAR?" she asked.
"Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition," he said.
"I am trained for FUBAR," she smiled.
"That doesn't mean you should drop your beautiful ass into the middle of a situation like this," he argued.
"Do you think my ass is beautiful?" she asked.
"I think all of you are beautiful," he answered.
She captured his lips with her own and began to re-ignite their passion. Sleep could come later.
NCIS
Breakfast was served at eight in the morning. Michael, Tony, and Ziva joined Etienne and Jospin at the dining room table. The meal was inspired by its locale and included flat bread, fried eggs, marmalade, green olives, sucuk, pastrima, and coffee or tea. The five of them ate with indulging in light conversation, which mainly entailed Jospin flirting with Ziva and questioning her about Tony.
As he began to speak to her in French, Tony zoned out and concentrated on eating his meal as if he was used to her behavior. He noticed Michael was having a Bloody Mary with his meal. After a long conversation, Jospin addressed him.
"She is delightful, Anthony," said Jospin. "You are a lucky man."
"I know," said Tony.
"And I never let him forget," Ziva said.
Jospin laughed.
"After coffee, I need to speak to you alone, Anthony," said Jospin.
"Business?" asked Tony.
"A proposal," said Jospin.
"Shouldn't I be involved?" asked Michael.
"No," was the simple answer.
Ziva noticed the scowl on Michael's face. His control was failing him. It was as if he wasn't even going to try to pretend that he was undercover. He was an assassin and a drunk, who was on the verge of losing it. She could not believe how far he had fallen.
"Why don't we take our coffee in the study? I know Sophie will probably like to take advantage of your private beach, maybe Michael would, too," said Tony.
"Yes, of course, that's what I need is a swim," smirked Michael.
"Excellent idea, Anthony," Jospin said then he gave ordered to the servant to bring coffee to his study.
Once Tony and Jospin left, Etienne excused himself leaving Ziva and Michael.
"What is your problem?" Ziva asked him softly.
"Anthony Paddington," he smiled. "Is he a good fuck?"
"The best," she growled and regretted.
She knew she didn't need to add any more antagonism between Michael and Tony. She saw ho his features darkened with hatred and now was afraid for Tony's life.
"Keep your mind in the game, Michael," she said.
"You keep yours in his lap," retorted Michael. "It is a good thing you have fallen out with your father."
"Don't cross me, Michael. I am still deadly," she warned him.
"Oh, I am afraid. Okay, I'll leave your pet alone for now," he said.
Ziva stood up: "I am going to change for the beach."
In the study, Jospin sat behind his desk and appraised the younger man in front of him. Outwardly, Tony appeared calm and confident, but inwardly he was sure this was a powder keg ready to blow.
"Lapin is out of control," said Jospin. "He is only good to do brute force and kill, but you have talent. I see a future for you, Anthony."
"What kind of future?" he asked.
"Etienne is a fine assistant but he is not a potential successor. I have accumulated wealth, but in a business such as mine, if I was to retire, I would be retired. Instead, I need someone to keep the business going, so I can drift away. And, someday this person will do the same thing. Are you interested, Anthony?" he asked.
"Maurice, you know that I am. You know I like the finer things in life," said Tony.
"So far I have tested you and you have succeeded. I need a final test for you," said Jospin. "It is a test that will prove your loyalty to me."
"I haven't failed your test so far," said Tony.
"Kill Lapin," said Jospin.
Tony tried not to overreact. His final test was to kill Rivkin.
"You know I'm not a killer," Tony said.
"We are all killers, Anthony. We just need the right motivation to bring that beast out of us," Jospin said. "I am offering you wealth and luxury for you and lovely Sophie, or maybe you would prefer one of the women from the yacht?"
"Sophie will be fine," smiled Tony.
"Good choice. She is delightful," Jospin said. "Remove that animal from the equation. You know he is a man with a death wish. Fulfill his wish."
"I understand what you are saying. It just might take a short time for me to deal with it," said Tony.
"I give you four days. At the end of the four days, if he is dead then you are my business partner and I begin to teach you the business. If he is alive then I'll pay you off and you can go your own way," said Jospin.
"It's that simple," said Tony.
"It is that simple. Kill the animal and gain riches beyond your ideas of avarice, or let the animal live and pick up a very nice paycheck for your trouble," he summed up the situation for Tony.
"You have a gift for precision," said Tony.
"I know," chuckled Jospin.
"If I kill him, can I really trust you, Maurice?" asked Tony.
He smiled at this. Jospin liked Tony's self of paranoia. It showed good instincts in his opinion.
"Anthony, if you put down the animal, you will be to trust me with your life because you have proven yourself worthy," said Jospin.
"Well, you've given me something to think about, Maurice," said Tony.
"Think but not for too long. There is much we have to get started on together, things for you to learn and things for us to plan," said Jospin.
"Etienne will accept me?" asked Tony.
"Etienne knows who he is. He is a number two, a right hand man, but he is not the one who leads. You can lead, Anthony. I see. You have skills. Etienne will be loyal to you," said Jospin.
"If I do this then I'll need a weapon. I doubt you expect this to be a hand to hand combat contest," said Tony.
"I will provide you with whatever weapon you wish. That is our business, isn't it?" smiled Jospin.
"I was thinking of an unmanned predator with hellfire missiles," smiled Tony.
"Very amusing, Anthony. If I had one of those, I'd be selling it for millions right this moment," said Jospin.
"Sophie is probably out on the beach. I love seeing her dressed for the beach," said Tony.
"I hope you don't mind if I appreciate her from afar," said Jospin.
"Of course not," said Tony.
NCIS
That evening Tony and Ziva took a walk on the beach. He needed to get her alone. After Jospin told him how to earn his final confidence, Tony spent most of the day in a silent contemplation. Was there a way they could fake Michael's death?
"Jospin wants me as his partner," he said, as he slipped his loafers off then bent over to roll up his linen pants.
Ziva took off her high shoes and placed them beside Tony's. Since she wore a short blue dress, she didn't have to roll anything up. She followed Tony, who was now walking along the water's edge letting the tide water lap over his feet.
"You said yes?" she asked.
"He says I have to pass one final test to prove him that I'm worthy of being his partner. I pass the test then he starts showing me the ropes, everything," said Tony not really wanting to bridge the topic of what that damned final test was.
"Tony, this can be all over soon if you can pass his final test," she said excitedly.
She slipped her arms through his. The idea of returning to DC with Tony excited her. She wanted to bring him home and she thought of DC as their home. He didn't belong in Rota.
"The test is to kill Michael," he stated.
She stopped walking, so he stopped, also.
"He wants you to kill Michael?" she said.
"He thinks he is an animal who is on the verge of being out of control. I prove myself by killing him," said Tony. "Zi, I have no idea what the hell to do?"
"How much time do you have to decide?" she asked.
Four days and day one is almost over," he answered.
"Tony, I… I do not know what to say," she said. "In Mossad, if the goal is important enough, they would tell me to kill him because destroying Bonaparte and his network is that important."
"I'm not Mossad," Tony said softly.
"I know," she said. "And I am not Mossad any longer. I cannot do things Mossad expects from me."
"I'm glad," he said, as he looked out at the black water.
He felt like walking up to his waist then start swimming away until he ran out of steam and could no longer swim or float.
"You do not want me to be an assassin any longer?" she asked him.
"No. I want you to be who you have become, a crime scene investigator and detective," he said.
For some reason this touched her. He liked who she had become.
"Zi, what do I do?" he asked.
"Tony, I know you can't kill him in cold blood," she said.
"I can't let this op be wasted," he said.
"So you are going to kill Michael?" she asked.
"No. I can't I'm not that kind of person. I'm not a murderer," he said.
Ziva came up and wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him from behind. Putting her cheek up against his back, she could hear his heart racing. She smiled.
"We work though this together no matter what happens," Ziva said to him.
"Zi, I'd wish you would leave before this gets out of control," he said.
"Not going to happen," she said squeezed him tighter. This time wasn't going to let go of him, either.