CHAPTER 7
Over the next month, McGee and Ziva began to realize just how tough a leader Tony DiNozzo could be. Tougher even than when Gibbs had left for Mexico and put him in charge. Both of them spent a great deal of time rooting through trash dumpsters, slogging through muddy river beds and doing all the dirty and grungy jobs that were a probie's special hell. They had daily and weekly evaluations from both Tony and their assigned trainers. Everything was noted, good and bad.
All four senior agents watched them closely, waiting for one or both of them to explode. Gibbs and DiNozzo, knowing the two junior agents best, knew it was only a matter of time before the constant scrutiny would lead to defiance and mutiny. Gibbs took on more of a supervisory role, allowing Tony to handle the day-to-day lead agent job, since he wanted to see how the two junior agents would respond to Tony giving orders to them every day. Jethro still responded on every call, but stayed in the background for the most part, overseeing all five of his agents, taking the opportunity to evaluate Cooper and Nightwalker as well has his own team.
But mostly, he kept his eye on David and McGee and their response to DiNozzo's orders.
"David, check the dumpster for evidence."
"McGee, you need to check the crawl space of the house. The suspect might have thrown the weapon under there."
"Yes, Agent David, we do have to sort through every room, under every bed, in every closet and in every drawer. And yes, I realize that this house is forty-two hundred square feet and we're looking for one single flash drive. It just means you'd better get started."
"Do this report over again, McGee. You missed a few things. And no, I will not tell you what you missed, you'll need to figure it out yourself."
"Ziva! Watch where you're stepping! You might trample evidence."
It was difficult and exhausting, for both mind and body. But both Tim and Ziva had been told that it was their only chance to stay on the team. They knew that their punishment wasn't over yet. So they put up with it, although with differing degrees of graciousness. They really had no choice.
Ziva seemed to be having the most trouble accepting orders and instructions from DiNozzo or either of the trainers. After the third time in less than two days where she waited until Tony was occupied with something else before approaching Gibbs, the Lead Agent pulled both McGee and David into the conference room when they returned from a scene.
"Sit down," he ordered. After they took seats beside each other, Gibbs settled into a chair across from them. He didn't say anything for several minutes, sipping on his ever-present cup of coffee as he watch them become more and more uncomfortable with his silent scrutiny. Finally, when he felt he'd made them nervous enough to suit his purpose, he spoke up.
"One month back in the field," he began. "One month as probies. How do you feel it's working out?" When neither seemed inclined to answer, he sighed. "I need you to be honest with me. Nothing leaves this room, but I want to know how you both think you're doing."
McGee opened his mouth to start, but was interrupted by Ziva. "I feel that we have suffered enough punishment," she stated flatly. "Can we just get back to normal?"
Gibbs stared at her, taking another long sip of his coffee. He set the cup down and leaned forward. "And just what would normal be, Agent David?"
"You back in charge!" she exclaimed. "And Tony..." She stopped when McGee moved his chair slightly away from her. "What are you doing?" she asked him.
"Getting out of the line of fire," Tim replied, causing a slight tic of a smile to begin on Gibbs face. "Boss...speaking for myself...and only myself...I have been trying to do everything my trainers, Tony and you have asked me to do. I've been extra conscientious with my paperwork, making sure that Agent Cooper and Tony have double-checked it. I'm learning a lot from Agent Cooper...and from Tony. I've learned my lesson and believe that I've done, and plan to keep doing, what I need to do to get back to regular status whenever you see fit."
McGee heard Ziva mutter something under her breath, which sounded suspiciously like 'kiss ass', but ignored it. She had been harping at him for the last week to join her in imploring Gibbs to remove them from probationary status. McGee had refused, telling her that the more they complained, the longer it would take for them to lose the yoke of probation from around both their necks. He had also reminded her that Vance was the one who set the time frame for their probation, noting that Ziva was supposed to be probationary for an additional full year. It had only been a month!
Gibbs nodded, watching Ziva slyly while gesturing for McGee to continue. As Tim spelled out the things that he felt he'd learned during the last few months, both at FLETC and back with the team, Jethro saw the comprehension flicker across her face, as she realized what McGee was saying. He knew that she was about to lay down some deep bullshit, saying what she thought Gibbs wanted to hear.
Once McGee was finished, Ziva dropped her head, then took a deep breath and raised her eyes to meet Gibbs' uncompromising stare. "I, too, have learned much over the last few months, both at FLETC and back here at NCIS," she began. "I realize now that I should respect Tony as my senior agent and follow his instructions when in the field."
"You should respect Tony? Should?"
"Ah, um, I mean, I do respect him. I respect him as my Senior Field Agent," she replied.
Gibbs swallowed the last of his coffee, crumbling the cup in his hand and tossed it into the trash can in the corner of the room, the cup sliding along the rim before dropping into the plastic bin. He folded his hands together on the table in front of him and looked back and forth between the two agents.
"Let's get one thing straight. I fully intend to turn this team over to DiNozzo when I retire. Tony has requested to stay on as my Senior Field Agent until that happens. He and I, with the full consent of Director Vance, will be leading the MCRT together until that time. And while I will have final say in any conflict, make no mistake, DiNozzo will take the lead more and more over the next couple of years. By the time I reach mandatory retirement age in five years, Tony will have assumed full leadership of the team, and I will have taken on more of a consultant position. If either of you have any problems with that, tell me now and I'll approve your transfer to another team. Assuming any of them are willing to have you. But if you stay, and I see any issues of insubordination, I will fire your asses faster than you can blink."
When neither said anything, he continued. "Tony DiNozzo is one of the best agents I've ever worked with, and the only one I would willingly turn this team over to, because I know that he will maintain the high standards and the excellent closure rate we've had since he joined me. I will not tolerate any disrespect of him in the future. If issues come up between you and DiNozzo that you don't feel comfortable bringing up with Tony directly, you will bring them to me and I will deal with them as needed. But if it comes down to you or him, Tony won't be the one leaving this team. Is that understood?"
"Yes, boss," McGee answered directly, nodding his head to reiterate his understanding. Gibbs nodded at his quick response, but was irked at the delay from Ziva David.
"McGee, you can leave." He waited for Tim to close the door behind him. "You have anything to say, Ziva?"
It took a long minute, but she finally looked up. "Why Tony? Why is he...why do you...?"
Gibbs sighed. "Ziva...you see only the surface of Tony DiNozzo. You see what he wants you to see. And you refuse to see anything else. You think you know him because of the research you did for Ari and you have pegged him into a hole without really knowing him. You've had five years to get to know him better, but you still refuse to look beyond the surface."
"He is the class clown..." she began.
"Yes, he is...at times. And I admit that there are times when that irritates me and I want to put a boot in his ass. But when the job calls for it, he buckles down and does what needs to be done. I have seen the best and the worst of Tony DiNozzo. And trust me, the best far outweighs the worst. I will always put up with his class clown act because the majority of time I get the good agent."
Ziva didn't reply, but Gibbs could tell that she was thinking about his words. He gave her a minute, then stood up. "For what it's worth, Tony wants to keep this team as it is. It was difficult for him to report you for what you did. He lost sleep debating with himself whether to just let it go or not. But he was right to report you, even though the only reason he did was because he feared that you'd do that same thing to another agent. He thought he deserved your disrespect and lack of support, but didn't want any other agent to get hurt because he didn't report what you did."
When she looked back up at him, he saw that she was thinking about his words. "You and McGee kept your jobs because Tony stood up for you. When the Director and I were discussing our options about how to handle the situation, termination of your employment was on the list."
The realization of how close she came to losing her job finally hit home. The disconcerting look on her face when she finally comprehended that one of the reasons she was not currently unemployed was due to the benevolence of Tony DiNozzo caused Gibbs to chuckle. When she made eye contact again, the only thing he said was, "Now, I think you're finally beginning to understand."
He stood up and walked out of the room, leaving her there to wonder if she would ever fit in on the team again.
/
Leaving their latest crime scene, McGee and David were relegated to riding in the back of the crime scene truck, since both were covered in dirt and debris from slogging through the muddy field searching for evidence. Nightwalker was going over their notes while Cooper drove the big vehicle back to the Navy Yard. Before their training officers had entered the vehicle, Ziva had closed the window between the front seat and the rear of the truck so she could vent to McGee without being overheard.
"I still do not understand why we could not ride back with Gibbs and Tony," Ziva groused.
"Do you really think Gibbs was going to let us in his car as dirty as we are?" McGee asked, a look of disgust on his face as he wiped his hands on his jeans, only to realize the jeans were no cleaner than his hands.
"Then our trainers could have ridden with Gibbs and I could have driven the truck back," she stated.
McGee sighed. "We're not allowed to drive the truck," he reminded her. "Gibbs banned us from driving any NCIS vehicle unless it's an emergency, because you almost hit his car last week." McGee still didn't understand why he had been banned from driving when it was Ziva who had almost crashed. Guilt by association, he assumed, since he'd been in the vehicle with her when it happened.
He leaned his head back against the side of the truck and closed his eyes, in a futile attempt to tune out Ziva's bitching. He really was getting tired of listening to her continuous complaints and tried to keep himself separated from all her drama. But she didn't make it easy, since usually the only time she complained was when the rest of the team couldn't hear her-which of course meant that McGee was always on the receiving end of her discourse.
He jerked when he felt a pain in his leg and realized that Ziva had kicked him. He reached down, rubbing the area and glared at her.
"What the hell did you do that for?" he asked.
"You were not listening to me," she declared.
"You've done nothing but complain since we got in the truck. It's not like you're saying anything new."
She glared at him. "We need to do something! We..."
"No! WE don't need to do anything," he insisted. "If you want to complain, fine, but don't bring me in on it. We're both a very short leash here."
"We are not dogs!"
He shook his head. "It means we don't have a lot of leeway to make mistakes. If you want to continue complaining, feel free. Just don't expect me to join in. I would really like to stay on the MCRT and bitching about our punishment is not going to make that any easier. In fact, it might just force them to transfer or fire us! I like my job. So don't include me in your complaints."
"We have been through FLETC! We have had to endure weeks of the worst jobs possible! Enough is enough! I am tired of Tony playing at being the boss!"
"Ziva, have you been listening to anything lately? Tony isn't playing, neither is Gibbs," McGee reminded her. "Face it, we screwed up! We need to make amends for what we did…"
"We were unjustly punished, McGee!"
Tim slammed his hand down on the seat next to him. "No, we weren't. We were wrong. We screwed up and could have been fired! Why can't you understand that?! We're lucky that nothing happened to Tony. We're damn lucky that Gibbs gave us a second chance. I don't plan to waste it. So please, just shut up and do your job! If you still think you didn't deserve this, then take it up with Gibbs or Vance. But leave me out of it!"
With that, McGee shut his eyes and once again leaned back against the side of the truck. He could hear Ziva muttering softly and tried to ignore her. He decided that he was going to speak to Agent Cooper when they got back, to see if he could figure out a way for Tim to spend less time with Ziva on the job.
In the front seat, Cooper and Nightwalker exchanged a look, part satisfaction, part disappointment. The small window between them and the two junior agents wasn't as soundproofed as Ziva might have thought. They'd heard everything said between the two, and while they were glad to note that McGee was standing up to David, Ziva was digging the hole deeper and deeper for herself.
/
Tony came out of the men's restroom, only to stop short to prevent crashing into Ziva. Tony thought to himself that this was an improvement. At least she didn't come into the restroom, this time. "Something you need, Agent David?"
"Can we discuss this?" Ziva asked him.
"Discuss what?"
"Ending this…punishment."
"No, we can't discuss it." Tony started to walk away.
"Why are you being so stubborn?" She wanted to just hit him, she was so frustrated.
Tony rolled his eyes. "I'm not stubborn, I'm pissed. And your attitude isn't helping to change that."
"I just do not understand why we cannot return to the way things were. Just tell Gibbs you are happy with McGee and I."
"So, you want me to lie to Gibbs?" Tony asked sarcastically. "Because that's what it would be, a lie. A big, fat, whopping one."
"You are impossible," Ziva growled.
"We both lost faith and trust in you and McGee. Tim is working his butt off to regain that trust. You just keep playing your games and pretending that you're doing what's expected of you. But that's all it is to you…just a game. I thought we were friends. I thought we were partners. You betrayed me, a member of Gibbs' team. And that means, you betrayed Gibbs. You know how he feels about that. Now, I can forgive and forget, if the person who did wrong is sincere about trying to make things better. I'm just not sure that you are. You'd best decide pretty quickly just where you want your life to go. My patience is running out."
With that, DiNozzo stepped around her and started walking down the hall. "Wait!" she called out. He stopped and turned to look at her. When she didn't say anything, he just shook his head and started to walk away again. She chased after him and grabbed his arm, halting his progress down the hall. "Can we…can we talk?" she asked.
After what seemed like an eternity, he nodded and gestured to a door behind her. They entered the empty conference room. Tony closed the door, but didn't notice that it didn't catch. Nor did either of them notice Gibbs stopping outside the door, having followed Ziva when she left the floor only minutes after Tony.
Tony sat down, while Ziva paced back and forth for several minutes before she too sat down, across the table from him.
"I…I don't understand why…"
"Why what?" he asked, quietly.
"Why was it such a big deal? You didn't get hurt. Everything was fine!"
Tony smiled sadly. "Yes, it was fine in that nothing happened except me getting a little hoarse. It was never about what did..or didn't... happen. It was about what could have happened."
When she still looked confused, he continued. "You know that I was a cop before I came to NCIS." She nodded. "There were times, as a police officer, when I responded to a call, thinking I was going to a fight call, but it turned out to be something totally different. Or it escalated when we got on scene. We'd go to a loud party call and we'd end up in the middle of a gang shootout. Ziva, back-up is there for what might happen. As I was going from house to house, I never knew who was going to be behind each door. Even if I didn't meet our terrorist, the person on the other side might be someone who deals drugs…or beats his wife and kids…or had just committed murder…"
"Tony, really! This was an upper class neighborhood…"
"And what? You don't think child abuser and killers could live there? Ziva, a terrorist lived there," he pointed out. "A man who had already killed three people...a man who was ready to blow up a bunch of kids playing baseball and their families."
The look on her face gave him some hope that she was finally getting it.
"The point is," he continued, "that you never know what's behind that door. It doesn't even have to be a bad guy. It could be a woman who was raped the night before and now she's paranoid when she's hears a knock on the door, so carries a weapon with her when she opens the door. It could be a ten-year old left home alone and scared, so finds his daddy's gun to protect himself." He shook his head. "I could give you a thousand scenarios. And each one of them has happened to some cop somewhere. You have to be prepared for anything. And that means having someone to back you up if you get in trouble."
She leaned forward and clasped her hands together. "We would not have been able to prevent something like that happening!"
"No, you wouldn't have been able to prevent it," he agreed. "But you would have been there to make sure it didn't get worse…to make sure I got help…and to make sure the bad guy didn't get away. Back-up isn't always about preventing something from happening. It's about being there to help, to maybe prevent an innocent from being hurt as well. To keep it from getting worse."
"I just don't understand why you didn't just tell us...why make a formal complaint? Why put us through all the training and humiliation? You could have just sat us down and explained that to us."
Tony frowned. That glimmer of understanding he thought she'd grasped just disappeared. "I shouldn't have had to sit you down and explain what it means to back up your partner, Ziva! We have worked together for years. Don't put it on me that you haven't been paying attention!"
He stood up to leave, then turned around as he reached the door. He moved over to where she sat and leaned down, one hand on the table and one on the back of her chair. "And the worst part is that you thought it was a joke. You thought that the possibility of me being hurt, or even killed, was something to laugh about." He stood up and stared down at her. "That...that is just not something that I will ever forget. And I'm trying very hard to forgive. And believe me, that is not easy. How do I forgive you for that?"
"I am sorry," Ziva said quietly. "We never meant..."
"Never meant what? For me to find out? For me to live through the day?"
"NO!" she cried. "We never...we would not risk your life..."
"But you did."
She slumped back. "Yes," she whispered. "Yes, we did."
Tony reached back and grabbed another chair, pulling over next to Ziva's. "Do you get it now? Do you understand why I might find it hard to trust you?"
When she looked at him, he was surprised to find tears in her eyes. "Yes," she said, her voice cracking. "We were wrong."
"Yes, you were. But you have the chance to make it right. You just have to be willing to swallow your pride." He put a hand on her shoulder. "For what it's worth, I have faith in you. I think you can do this."
"Will... will things go back to normal...if...when..."
"Ah, Ziva. Things won't ever go back to the way they were. What you see now," he said, gesturing to himself, "is the real me. I'm not the womanizing, frat boy, class clown that I used to pretend to be. From now on, what you see, is what you get. We've all had to grow up, including me. I can't be that guy anymore. But we can still be friendly. And we can still be a great team. But in order for me to be your boss in the future, I have to start on that journey now. I just hope you and McGee can accept that it has to be this way from now on. If you can't, this will never work."
Ziva just nodded, but didn't reply. Tony squeezed her shoulder and stood up, leaving her in the room as he headed back to the bullpen, allowing her time to think about their conversation. She looked down at the table as he walked out, lost in thought.
Gibbs watched his SFA go back to work. He'd heard the entire conversation and now it was his turn. It was his job to make sure that his agents were not just physically prepared for the job, but mentally as well. He realized that he'd not done what he needed to do for Ziva David and now he was playing catch up.
"Ziva, come with me." She looked up and glanced around, seemingly surprised that Tony was gone. "Come on," Gibbs said. She followed him out of the room and down the hall.
Ziva was surprised when Gibbs headed for the exit. She followed silently as he purchased a large black coffee for himself and a cup of tea, handing the latter to her. Once she'd added sugar to her drink, he steered her to an out-of-the-way bench and sat down. She briefly hesitated before dropping down next to him.
"So," he began, "it seems like you still have a problem with DiNozzo."
She shouldn't have been surprised that he'd come straight to the point, but she was. And she wasn't sure how to answer him. She debated whether to be equally blunt and straightforward or try to give him the answer she thought would placate him. In the end, her deliberation was answer enough for Gibbs.
"So, exactly what is your biggest issue with Tony?" he asked.
She took a sip of her tea as she tried to formulate an answer, finally deciding to just speak what was on her mind.
"I am not sure that I trust him anymore."
Gibbs didn't immediately respond, but when he did, he only asked, "Why?"
Ziva almost smiled at the seemingly innocuous question. Why? The question itself was harmless. The answer-not so much.
"I...It is really...he..."
"Just say it, Ziva."
"Michael," was her short reply. The name held so much pain for her. The death of Michael Rivkin had revealed her father's duplicity, which in turn led her on a horrific journey that ended in a terrorist camp in Somalia.
Gibbs knew that Tony still carried a great deal of guilt about Ziva's capture and torture in that camp. Jethro carried his own guilt for leaving her to be the victim of her father's machinations. In hindsight, he should have dragged her onto that plane and figured something out once they got back to American soil.
Shoulda. Coulda. Woulda. The story of his life.
He took a long sip of his coffee, watching some joggers running down a nearby path. "You still feel that Tony was wrong?"
"He did not have to kill him," she insisted.
"Tell me something, Ziva," he said, turning to face her. "Rivkin was Kidon, well trained?"
"Of course. Kidon are the best trained fighters in the world," she boasted.
"Even drunk?"
"Yes, even drunk," she said, barely keeping the sneer off her face.
"Even with a large shard of glass in his abdomen?"
She rolled her eyes. "Kidon are trained to ignore pain in order to finish the mission," she declared with pride and superiority.
"So, even drunk and injured, Michael Rivkin was a dangerous man, lethal."
"Of course," she stated.
"And DiNozzo, injured, having trouble breathing from Rivkin trying to strangle him, what chance did he have against this Kidon-trained operative?"
"None," she replied, almost gleefully. "He does not have nearly enough training to withstand an attack by Kidon."
Gibbs didn't reply, only watched and waited to see what conclusion she would come to. When she just leaned back and sipped her tea, he just shook his head.
"I am going to ask you some questions and I don't want any immediate answers. I want you to take your time and think about everything that's happened since you came here. Ask yourself why you first came to the U.S. Why did you stay? Why accept Jenny's offer? Why are you here now? Why did you come back here after Somalia and not return to Israel and Mossad? Why did you want to be an American citizen? What would have happened if Tony hadn't shot Michael? Would you have preferred it if Michael had lived and Tony had died?"
Gibbs stood up and walked away, leaving Ziva to ponder the questions he had posed. She began to think back to when she first arrived in this country, what her mission was and how things had changed. How she had changed.
An hour later, Ziva called her boss and asked permission to take the rest of the day off. Being Thursday, Gibbs suggested that she take a long weekend and told her to return on Monday morning.
"And Ziva...my door is always open," he reminded her.
