Chapter Seven – The Secrets That Keep Us
"It seems that we have a problem, Leon."
"No, my problem was given back to you. You lost control of her. But then, maybe you never had control of her in the first place." Director Leon Vance leaned back in his chair, not feeling the comfort of the chair or of the situation he found himself currently in. "Eli, you told me to use her because that what Ziva was best for: difficult situations. Now I find out that in a difficult situation, she is not protected by anyone, and she is left on her own."
"And that I was I taught her – to rely on herself. No one else."
"Hey, we all need someone from time to time to help us out. At least, that was what you got me to believe..."
"The situation you found yourself in all those many years ago is nothing like the one my daughter is in right now. At least you had the good grace to admit when you were in over your head." Eli David sat in his office, looking at a picture of his family while he spoke to Vance. He knew people did not understand his relationship with his children.
Because of his own teachings and background, Deputy Director Eli David felt it best to make sure that his children understood what a dangerous place the world was. He lost one child to a Hamas bombing, another child was killed by the only child he had left. And this child, who was so much like her mother, was nowhere to be found. "Ziva does not know how to admit fear, defeat, or when she's in over her head. Which is why I gave her difficult situations to teach her how to keep fear where it belongs: as part of her imagination."
"Then I'm glad my daughter will never enter the military. She needs to understand that fear, sometimes, is a good thing," Vance replied.
"Not always."
"That being said, my last intel sources picked up her trail, somewhere in Australia. She dropped off the scanner, but then I got lucky. Instead of following her trail, I followed Gibbs. He came to DC from Seattle and Dallas/Ft. Worth. My belief is that she is being held somewhere on the West Coast or even further west. I still have people following Gibbs."
"From what you have told me about Special Agent Gibbs, he is not a man who can easily be led, or found. If he does not want you to find him or my daughter, he will not be found, nor will she. And, from my intelligence, he has more than a few reasons to mistrust you, given your recent history."
Vance slowly let out a breath. He forgot what it was like, trying to answer for choices made in order to keep a secret. "The only thing that Gibbs has on me is a file that was falsified to make it seem to him that I was untrustworthy."
"And you foolishly believe that he knows nothing of our prior history or the 'situation' that you find yourself currently indebted to me for?"
To that end, Vance was silent on his end of the phone. If anyone were to find out…dead would be a good state to be in.
_______________________
Somewhere in the Sidron Valley…
"I once again find myself at a crossroads. Should I let you live for your value to our cause, or should I do myself the favor and kill you now?" The man in the corner twirled his knife in his hands. From his handling of the knife, one could tell he was very…intimate…with the knife. You could almost believe that the knife was an extension of the man's hand.
The man who stood before the knife-wielding questioner, however, also had other skills. "I believe that I have a few skills that are still relevant to the cause. Besides, I do not appreciate the fact that I am being held responsible for the escape of Director David's daughter." He pulled out a cell phone and showed the other man a picture he had taken. "However, I think you will have some explaining to do when our 'mutual friend' sees your gross incompetence once more."
The knife-wielder looked at the photo on the phone and did not flinch. "That can be explained." He called two men forward. Once they approached, the knife wielder said very calmly in Arabic, "I am here to present you with your reward." He moved so fast, neither man had a chance to react to the wonderful news as they received their final reward.
The knife-wielder, as he wiped off his blade, looked at the other man and said, "There lies our explanation. Now, we need to move forward. When are you leaving, and what is the rest of your plan?"
"Simple. Tomorrow, which means I should be there on Friday."
"Good. Retaliation must be done swiftly, otherwise how will the unwashed know. To Allah be glory."
"Glory be to Allah."
_____________________
Five days later…Hawaii
"At some point, Ms. David, you will have to face him." Hollis set the tray on the nightstand next to Ziva's bed. They were at the hospital, and Ziva was sitting on the other side of the bed, putting on some clothes that Hollis had brought for her. They were discussing her schedule once she came to Hollis's house.
"I can put off talking to Tony. As for Gibbs, well…"
"Well, what, Officer David?" Gibbs said, coming through the door.
"I am…not sure…what exactly I should or should not say," Ziva stammered out.
Gibbs took a sip of his coffee and waited her out. He had been there since Tuesday, and was still waiting for some answers from the Mossad agent. He understood that she was still recovering from her kidnapping and torture, but they needed more from her, before anything else came down the pipeline.
After sitting underneath Gibbs's glare, Ziva said, "From what I understand, they are trying to either infiltrate or stage an event where they can put someone in place to come into NCIS, if they have not done so already."
"That much can be said from the computer we brought back with us. Did they ask you questions specifically?"
"Yes, but I…can't remember…much. It comes to me…"
"Snapshots," Gibbs answered. Ziva nodded, remembering when Gibbs had gone through the same thing when he was in the explosion that caused him to leave NCIS, once he regained his memory.
Hollis stated, "The best way we can get your mind working again is to go to therapy. No buts," she explained, when Ziva started to block the discussion. "Ziva, if we can't figure this out, we can't help you or ourselves."
"What is your part in this, Lt. Col Mann?"
"Hollis. Civilian, somewhat. Agent actually. I work for the same team. NCIS – Special Assignment Task Force."
Ziva took this news stoically. "So I can brief you?"
"And me." Gibbs took another sip. "Hollis, I need to speak with her, alone."
Hollis looked at Gibbs for a moment, searching his face. Whatever she saw in his face must have agreed with what she wanted. She nodded and walked out of the room.
"Gibbs, do not push me."
"No. Just going to return the favor." He slapped the back of her head.
The reaction was not the same as it had been in the past. She reached out and grabbed his hand and hit the pressure point. Gibbs yelped, and then in a blinding move, he twirled her around by her wrist and tossed her into the chair. "STOP!"
It stopped her cold. She stared at him, but wasn't seeing him, and began to struggle with him.
Gibbs grabbed her by the arms and shook her. "STOP!" he yelled again.
She immediately stopped struggling with him, and she looked at him again.
He got down and looked her in her eyes, determined to make her see who it was. "You're home," he said, quietly. "You're safe." Gibbs was trying to suppress the survival instinct that always sent her off either fighting or running.
I'm home, I'm safe her mind told herself. Homesafehomesafehomesafehomesafehomesafehomesafe….the words kept repeating themselves, giving her flashes of memories, laughter, happiness, music, friendship, it all floated to the front of her mind. And then, her brain jarred, then rebooted.
Ziva looked at him, "Gibbs? They wanted to turn me into a spy…they tried to get me to…but I wouldn't talk…would not answer them…they kept telling me about days…asking about schedules and maneuvers and who handled intel sources…they kept asking me questions, questions, questions! I couldn't…couldn't remember…can't remember…why?!" she wailed. She looked possessed.
Gibbs shook her again. "Come on back from that dark place." Ziva looked at him, again, trying to remember. "I can't…it won't stop…I can't…" and she yelled.
The doctor rushed in with Hollis right behind him. "Let her go, Agent Gibbs, she's having an episode," the doctor told him. Gibbs stepped aside and watched as the doctor sedated her, Hollis holding his arm. She whispered to him, "This was what happened during her debriefing. She couldn't stop the memories of the torture…"
Gibbs said, "She remembers, the fight's not with her mind, it's with her heart."
