Chapter 7: Curious

Emily had been in the Director's office with Vance and Gibbs for almost an hour, and Tony was growing more and more curious by the second.

Gibbs had immediately insisted on taking Emily to a safe house when she informed him that their guy had threatened to come back and finish the job. She had revealed a real stubborn streak then, vehemently refusing to hide away in some hole somewhere while NCIS took all the risks. It had been like the ultimate staring contest, a battle of wills in the middle of the bullpen, neither of them budging an inch.

And then Director Vance had called them both up to his office, evidently to add his two cents to the discussion. Tony had expected Vance to agree with Gibbs and put his foot down. It should have been a five-minute discussion that ended in Emily storming out of the office frustrated. Instead, it had been nearly an hour and still none of them had come out.

"What do you think they're talking about?" he finally voiced, his curiosity becoming too much to contain.

"Likely Gibbs is simply planning the best way to keep Prentiss safe," Ziva answered noncommittally, never looking up from her computer.

"For an hour?!" Tony returned, not believing that for a second. He would have literally killed to be a fly on the wall in that office right now.

"Agent Prentiss is important to Director Vance," she continued, looking at Tony as she often did when she believed he was being ridiculous, "That makes her safety a priority for Gibbs, and her input more valuable to him than a normal witness. I'm sure that is why they are spending more time on this than normal."

That brought Tony to another huge question of his, "Just what exactly is the relationship between Prentiss and Vance anyway? I mean who keeps in touch with a child victim from a case, decades ago in another country? Isn't that a little weird?"

McGee finally spoke up then, "He saved her life when she was a kid. She probably idolized him, maybe even saw him as a father figure, or an older brother, or something. So it makes sense for her to reach out to him. And you heard her story; she wasn't your everyday child victim. She was memorable, and impressed him. I don't think it's all that odd that he kept in touch with her. Especially since this was before he met his wife or had the kids; maybe he even sees her as a daughter."

Ziva was nodding in agreement as the youngest agent spoke, but Tony didn't seem convinced. Or perhaps he just wanted an excuse to snoop. Either way, he was suddenly in front of the plasma, running through the life history of Emily Prentiss.

"Emily Elizabeth Prentiss, born October 12, 1970 in Washington DC. Mother is Elizabeth Prentiss, US Ambassador to the UN, currently posted to the embassy in London. No father listed on the birth certificate, and Ambassador Prentiss has never been married," Tony was reading off the screen, unaware of the audience behind him.

"My father's name was Clayton Jones," Emily's voice behind him made him jump six inches in the air, and had Tim and Ziva stifling their laughter, "I will tell you whatever you want to know Agent Dinozzo if it pertains to the case. And I don't mind answering any personal questions you might have, even if only to satisfy your curiosity. But you should know by now, a person's file only tells you so much, and is often riddled with holes and misinformation."

She is smiling as she gently takes the remote for the plasma from his grasp, removes her file from the screen, and sets the remote on his desk.

He begins to attempt to stutter out an explanation, thankful that Gibbs was not also standing behind him, but she cuts him off gently, "Don't sweat it Tony. Mystery woman walks into your office with information about your case, a bullet wound in her shoulder, and an apparent connection to your Director. Checking up on her is only natural. I would do the same in your place," she assures him, not mentioning that she would be able to gain access to far more information with her security clearance, and would probably call in a favor or two to make sure her information was thorough and accurate, "So, you have questions. Shoot."

All three agents stare at her for a moment, confused, before they all start speaking at once. Emily just laughs, holds up her hand calmly and says, "Maybe one at a time?"

"Director Vance told us about what happened in Russia when you were a kid. You withstood torture without breaking, escaped from your cell, and took on trained, armed, men more than twice your size. Is that all true? And how did you learn to fight like that?" Ziva asked, receiving a dark look from Tony for getting her question in first, but in all honesty, it was something they all wanted to know.

"First off," Emily begins, "Yes, that is how it happened. I know it sounds a little unbelievable, but you should remember I was shot that day too. I didn't walk away unscathed from that bunker. None of those men saw me as a threat because I was so young, so I had the element of surprise on my side at first, and once I got my hands on a gun, I was more than capable of handling myself. My father taught me to shoot long before I was taken in Moscow."

"Your father, Clayton Jones?" Tony asked, "Who was he, and why would he have felt it was necessary to teach a little girl how to use a gun?"

"Clay taught me to defend myself for the same reason that his name doesn't appear on my birth certificate. He was high ranking CIA, and that meant he had a lot of enemies around the world that might try to use me against him."

"So your dad was CIA too?" McGee asked next.

"Too?" Emily focused on keeping her tone of voice innocent with just a touch of confusion. They couldn't know about her past, could they?

"Vance seems to be under the impression that you were with the Agency before you became a Fed," Tony explained.

"I never told Leon that," Emily hedged. She wasn't really supposed to talk about this, though given they were also federal agents, it should be alright as long as no classified information was exchanged. She didn't want to lie to them either; she felt like she could trust them for some reason, and she wanted them to trust her, "I can't talk about anything from that time for obvious reasons, but yes, I was CIA for several years before I joined the FBI. I also worked in connection with Interpol on several operations over the years. I suppose you could say, I followed in my father's footsteps. But things changed for me, and I wanted out of that life."

Ziva could relate to what this woman was saying, having experienced a very similar shift in her life not long ago, "My father is the Director of Mossad," she surprised Tony and McGee by revealing, "I was raised from a very young age to fight, to kill, and when I was old enough, I became an officer of Mossad. I was forced to kill my brother, Ari, when he threatened Gibbs, and I realized in that moment I needed out. NCIS became my family."

Emily's eyes soften as she hears this, finding true common ground with Agent David, "I am sorry for your loss. The passing of a brother is a painful burden to bear, no matter the circumstances," she tells Ziva, allowing herself to slip into Hebrew at the newfound knowledge that Ziva is in fact Israeli. Then, returning to English, she continues, "Clay had another child before he met my mother, a son named Ronan, my half-brother. He was killed while on mission when I was twelve-years-old."

The bullpen is silent for several moments as they all absorb this. Tony is about to ask something else when Gibbs' voice stops him short.

The gray-haired agent is leaning against the railing on the stairwell above the team, Director Vance at his side.

"David, McGee, I want you to keep working the case here. I want some answers when I get down there," he barks before turning to Tony, "Dinozzo, take Prentiss back to your place. She won't go to the safe house, and she refuses to return to the hospital, so I want you to keep an eye on her tonight."

There was a chorus of, "Got it, boss," heard among the team. Emily was not pleased with the arrangement, but decided it was better than having to go to the safe house, and all in all, Tony wasn't bad company as far as she could tell.

"Guess you're with me, Princess," Tony chuckled as he grabbed his things and led her toward the elevator.

"It would appear so," she responded, keeping her voice neutral, "That should give you plenty of time to ask what I'm sure are your millions of questions."

"I look forward to it," he replied, oblivious to her discomfort with the whole situation, "Do we need to go by your place for anything?"

"No, I grabbed my go bag before coming here," she told him, "I just need to get it out of my car. Unless you'd rather I follow you to your place?" she asked hopefully, momentarily entertaining the idea of ditching the young agent. She didn't think it would be all that difficult, and she abhorred the idea of being baby-sat this way, even if it was for her own protection.

"And give you a chance to escape your protective detail? Not a chance." So maybe he wasn't quite as oblivious as he appeared. She smiled good naturedly, and steered them towards her car so she could grab her bag.

"I didn't make it home last night for obvious reasons, and I never got a chance to plug in my cell phone. I can charge it when we get to your apartment, but there is one call I should probably make on the way," she explained, "Do you mind if I borrow yours?"

"Sure, no problem," Tony said readily, handing his phone over, his eyes alight with curiosity.

She quickly dialed the number as they climbed into his car, and was thoroughly surprised when it rang through to voicemail. It wasn't like him not to answer his phone.

"You've reached Agent Hotchner. Please leave a detailed message and I will get back to you as soon as I can," the recording sounded through her earpiece, and she sighed. This wasn't something she wanted to leave on his voicemail, but he was clearly wrapped up in a case if he wasn't answering.

"Hey Hotch. It's Emily. I know you guys are probably busy on a case. I just wanted to let you know I'm alright. I'm sure the hospital called JJ when I went into surgery, and I don't want anyone distracted while you're in the field. I'm ok, and left the hospital this afternoon. My phone has been dead all day, but you can reach me at this number if something urgent comes up. Otherwise, I'll have my cell back soon enough. Say hi to everyone for me. I miss you guys. Anyway, be safe. Bye."

She left her message, purposefully downplaying her injuries, and not mentioning her current predicament so as not to worry any of them. She would have called JJ herself, but she didn't want to have to answer the blonde's questions about why she left. Honestly, she knew Hotch might have the same questions, and she didn't want to discuss it with him any more than she did with JJ, but she also trusted he might put the pieces together on his own and leave it be.

"Thanks," Emily handed Tony back his phone and they left the parking lot, headed for his apartment.