Chapter 8:
"Well this is completely useless." Tony exhaled as he leaned against Abby's wall.
"No!" she told him "Think positive Tony DiNozzo. Positive.Your bad vibes are messing with my machines." Snorting, Tony smiled at her and opened his mouth, only to be interrupted by a ringing phone. Looking down at his cell, he saw a familiar name flash on the screen and instantly his stomach took a freezing plunge.
"One sec Abs, I need to take this." He told the Goth and quickly exited the lab before she could respond.
"Dale?" he answered breathlessly and heard a strangled cry on the other side of the line.
"Hello Tony." A voice answered coolly. "Mr. Benson is currently unavailable at the time, but I would be very happy to speak with you."
Looking around to make sure no one was listening, Tony took a deep breath and gripped the phone tighter to his ear.
"So you're the one who has been killing them." He said, his voice full of contempt and distrust.
"They have all been admirably brave." The person said in the same flat tone "I especially like this last one. He was the only one who fully understood who I was. It is a shame I will have to kill him."
"No. You don't." Tony growled through gritted teeth. "It is obviously me you have a problem with. Why go after them? Who are you?"
"You are right." The person sighed "It is not these men's faults at all. However, you must feel every bit of pain you deserve. I was planning on killing Archer and then saving you for last, but I have come up with a much better idea."
"Really? Your ideas sound a bit psycho to me." Tony hissed and the woman on the other line laughed happily.
"If you want Benson to live. Come to me. I will text you the address. Do not tell anyone where you are going or that you are leaving. If you do not get here in twenty minutes, the deal is off. Understand?"
"Crystal." Tony answered, looking into Abby's lab with a pained expression.
"Good…Oh and Tony? I would very much like my necklace back. I believe my daughter left it in your possession before you murdered her. Good day."
"Ziva what's going on?" Gibbs asked as he walked into bullpen. He paused for a moment to digest the fact that Jake Archer was back, though he was cuffed to a desk, an apple in his mouth for some reason…
"It was the only way to shut him up." Ziva offered as an explanation and the man in question gave a muffled yell and dropped the fruit from his mouth.
"She's torturing me! This isn't legal."
"Yeah, whatever. What's going on?" Gibbs asked as he looked at McGee who was typing away vigorously.
"I have a lead." Ziva explained and Gibbs waited for her to continue "Zohura is the person this all keeps going back to, but she is dead. So what if someone for some reason blamed Tony for Zohura's death? And who would be that upset?" She held up the picture of the Muslim woman from before.
"Someone who is older than Zohura but looks just like her? Gibbs this woman has to be Zohura's mother!"
"You think she came to America to kill Tony?"
"If she somehow blames him and his squad for her death, than yes!" Ziva exclaimed.
"Does this mean I can be un-cuffed please?" Archer asked, but was ignored.
"The woman in the photo's real name is Ada Rawah. She is forty-nine years old, and was smuggled out of Afghanistan after her husband died… she has two sons and three daughters. She used to have another daughter, but it says here she was murdered when she was nine..."
"Zohura." They all said together and Gibbs jumped up.
"McGee, find this woman now. Ziva, I still want to know where Lily James is, and what her connection is to all this."
"Whoa, wait a second." Jake cut in "Lily James is here? What the Hell?" he asked, looking irritated.
"Do you know why?" Gibbs asked, kneeling down in front of him.
"No. I mean, after we got back from POW they got into this huge fight that no one knew anything about. A little while later she wanted to find him again and drag him back over here, but I told her to leave him alone. We ended up exploding at each other and she accused me of raping her because of it." Jake told him and Gibbs signaled Ziva to start looking.
"Why would she want him to come back?"
"I don't know! They were tight in training… He told her a lot of stuff and she helped him out. I remember after we went on a raid though, she came to our base for some reason and they had an argument. He wouldn't talk to me about it."
Grabbing his cell, he flipped open his phone and dialed Tony's number. When voice mail came up, he went and punched in Abby's number.
"Gibbs!"
"Abby, I need Tony up here pronto."
"Oh my God Gibbs I'm so sorry…" his forensic analyst sobbed on the other line "I don't know where he went! He left to take a phone call and didn't come back… I looked for him I swear! I was just about to call you!" Feeling his stomach drop, Gibbs forced himself to take a deep breath.
"Pull up the security tapes. I'll be down there in a sec." After snapping his phone shut, he quickly turned to Jake and undid his cuffs.
"Tony's gone." He announced and the whole bullpen froze "You need to find these people now, and you." He added turning to Jake "You need get me to my agent."
Gibbs was going to kill him.
Tony sighed as he got into a cab, knowing a bolo would be on his car soon enough and rubbed his hands over his eyes. His boss was going to be beyond pissed when he found out Tony decided to go MIA on them…
He had to stop this though. He was the reason he was in the mess in the first place, it would only make sense that he should be the one to end it…Right?
He didn't think Gibbs would see it that way, but if he lived, he would be able to worry about that later.
Tony fiddled painfully with the necklace in his hands. He had been keeping it close the moment he saw Brandon's body near the Potomac. It looked exactly the same as when Zohura had given it to him. Holding it close, he closed his eyes and let wafts of memories roll over him. Until Zohura, he had been a perfectly normal marine. He had done his job and did it well…
Of course any sense of normalcy would have to disappear for him, he thought bitterly. Now, here he was going to meet the mother of the child he had killed years ago. Closing his eyes, Tony tried to remain calm. This was almost over….
Tony had never been afraid to die. Not even when the idea was looming over him like the roof of a house. When you grew up in an environment that made you question your self-worth, you tended to be a little more reckless with your life. For a while, Tony simply had nothing to live for. Then, the moment he joined the Marines, he did. His brothers in arms, the people he saved, his country… Unfortunately, the thing he had found to live for was ultimately the thing that just might kill him, but hey! Each to their own, right?
These thoughts had swayed in and out of the NCIS agent's head as the car slowed, having the trees no longer blur together as he came closer to their destination. It was out in the middle of the woods, lush greens spilling everywhere as the trees split so that the dimming sky bathed everything in a golden glow as the taxi pulled in closer to the house at the end of the gravel road. Hopping out, Tony paid the driver before slipping him an extra hundred.
"Do me a favor and get far away from here- Don't go back to DC for the next day or two and don't answer any phone calls." He told the man, adding another couple twenties to the pile. Tony didn't want to risk Gibbs finding him. This was Tony's fight.
It was time it ended.
Ada Rawah was an incredibly beautiful woman. Jet black hair mixed with silver tumbled thickly down to her waist and skin that was the color of coffee with a splash of creamer.
The one part of her, that Dale Benson simply couldn't get over though, were her eyes. Black tunnels that were full of empty emotions, twisting and bending back down into the depths of this woman who no one could even begin to comprehend.
Dale often wondered that if in one point of her life, they had been full of warmth instead. Happiness could do wonders to a person, and Dale could only imagine what it would do for this woman.
"It will all be over soon." She promised as she poured herself a glass of water. She sipped casually, her fingers tracing over a note in her hands.
"You could just stop this." Dale told her, his voice cracking. It had been days since he had last eaten, and hours since his mouth had touched the cool liquid feeling of water. Blood leaked down his wrists from the chains hanging him up, and not for the first time, he wondered if death would be a welcomed friend.
"He took my daughter away from me." Ada said simply and took another sip of her water "He will suffer."
"Oh trust me, I have."
Dale felt his weakened head snap up at the voice, recognizing it even after all these years. Tony stood in the doorway, his face white, but placed into an expression that could only be described as extraordinary determination.
Seeing the sudden glimmer in Ada's eyes, Dale opened his mouth, to warn his friend to run when Tony took a seat across from the woman, leaving everyone in the room almost speechless at the casualness towards someone who obviously wanted to hurt him.
"Is Lily here?" he asked quietly and Ada cocked her head with mild interest.
"You have figured it out." She said in surprise and Tony nodded.
"I think I always had a suspicion" he shrugged and Dale stared.
"T-Tony?" he coughed out and his old brother's eyes softened when they met his.
"I'll get you out of this." He told him quietly and Ada snorted, with obvious disbelief.
"You do not call the shots around here Anthony DiNozzo." She snarled, but Tony ignored her, instead opting to poor himself a glass of water as he studied the surroundings of the deserted house that sat in the middle of nowhere.
"Nice place." He gestured, looking at the cobwebbed chimney and dust filled bookcase.
"Be quiet." She growled at him and reached down to grab her gun and knife that stood on the drawer. Tony watched her without comment, his eyes following the weapons as she leveled them at his chest. "You came."
"You sound surprised."
"I was not for sure if you would take my threat seriously. I thought you might bring someone with you." She added looking outside before waving a small little button around "I hooked him up just in case." She added and Dale winced at the reminder of the bomb sitting beneath him. "I decided if you broke my rules I would blow us all up. The same thing applies if you do not listen to my words carefully. Get on your knees."
Tony graciously did so, his eyes never once leaving Ada.
"You say nothing." She commented suspiciously and Tony gave a wry smile.
"What's there to say?" he asked quietly "I know how…and why. What questions are left?" he asked "Other than, is there anything I can do or say to make you let him go?" he added, jutting out his chin towards to Dale. Ada followed his stare and then looked at him with light amusement.
"No." she said simply.
"Then…What's the difference if you blow us up or not? We're all dead anyways." Tony told her calmly and another click brought his attention back to the entrance of the house.
"Keep your mouth shut Tony." Lily said as she strolled in "You're just making it worse."
"Tony listen to me!"
"I've seen enough." The marine growled as he tried to stalk out of the room, but was pulled back by Lily's arm grasping his with desperation. He turned to look at her, trying to understand what might have been going through her mind at the moment.
"Tony… I know this looks bad, but you have to listen to me. You have to understand!"
"What is there to understand Lily? This is as good as treason!"
"Oh, don't be stupid. This isn't treason." The woman said dismissively.
"Lily you were making deals with terrorists!" Tony cried out, his voice rising. "You gave them food, weapons, money- for what? What exactly were you hoping to accomplish by aiding our enemy!?" he asked her, pushing her back slightly as he yelled. The woman turned to level her glare at him, obviously beginning to realize that he wasn't about to see things her way.
"Tony. I did it for the greater good." She told him and at this point, Tony appeared to have enough as he began to leave the room before she blocked the tent door.
"Get out of my way." He told her crossly.
"What are you going to do? Report me?" she snarled with heavy sarcasm and something went across the marine's face… Something that may or may not have been pain mixed with guilt.
"You…You were?" she gasped, stepping back as if she had been struck. "What the hell Tony!?"
"You helped the people that killed Zohura. The people that tortured me and Jake. Did you honestly think I would see your side on this?" he asked her with a bit of resignation and Lily stared at her friend.
"No. Tony, you've got to listen to me. I did it to keep you alive! Whenever I gave them weapons, they gave me information on you."
"Information on my location? The location you never even told anyone on the unit that rescued us? Lily, that's bullshit and you know it." Tony sighed, no longer in the mood to fight. Dark shadows had been forming under his eyes from the nights of sleeplessness and nightmares that always woke him up in a cold sweat.
"I swear, I'll never do it again. Just…Just trust me okay?"
"It's not that simple. Lily, this isn't just some little mistake. This is serious. Could you just make this easier on yourself and come quietly?" he begged, trying not to sway with exhaustion as he spoke. There was a moment of silence in which the two just stared at each other, each trying to pick their next move.
"Tony… You know I need this. My little sister in the hospital dying. They said they had a cure."
"They were lying! You know that this place would never have the resources to-"
"I don't care!" Lily screamed, tears now flowing freely down her face "There was a chance! There was a chance they could cure Sasha! I can't see her die Tony. I can't do it! Do you know what it's like to sit next to someone you love and watch them slowly fade away from you? To see them as they gag for air and literally watch their heart stop at times before it starts again? She's in pain and I need to make it stop! I'm her sister. I'm supposed to make it stop and I. Don't. Know. How…Please." She sobbed and Tony stared, flashes of his mother's life playing across his eyes. Tony had known Lily's thirteen year old sister had been in the hospital for a little over three years now, slowly dying. He also knew it killed Lily to see her that way… He hadn't realized the lengths she would go to try to rectify the situation.
"Lily…" he started, his throat cutting him off as he felt a lump painfully rise. His mind raced back to when he was eight years old. If he had a chance…Any chance to have saved his mother. Would he have taken it? Would had even thought about the consequences or if it was even remotely realistic? Part of him argued that it was different, considering he was eight and Lily was in her twenties, but at the moment, he didn't care.
"You're not doing this again, right?" he asked her quietly and glittering eyes met his.
"No." she whispered.
"I'm not going to report you…This time. But if anything ever becomes of it, or if I think there's a chance you're doing it, I am. Got it?" after a nod he added one more thing "We're also done Lily. I can't be friends with someone who helped these people. Ever." He told her and left without another word.
"So, I'm guessing you went back on your word then." Tony asked her wryly as he looked at his old friend's gun pointing at him.
"Sorry Tony…But I found out a couple years after you left… Terrorists offer some good money if you talk to the right people. Unfortunately, I made a mistake. I slipped up and people were talking about launching an investigation when some classified information was spilt and a mole was blamed."
"An investigation I would have heard about." Tony sighed "And would have linked it to you." He said, silently cursing his stupidity. He had done regular check-ups on Lily even after he left to make sure she stayed honest. After his fifth year away though…He began to trust her again, and silently stopped. He should have known better… He should have checked.
"Couldn't exactly have that. So, I took a trip and tracked down Ada over here. Thought she deserved to know who really killed her daughter." Lily finished, stalking around her old friend like a panther. Tony turned his gaze back to the older of the two women, watching her through green eyes.
"And you just accepted that I killed her?" he asked quietly and Ada narrowed her eyes.
"You do not seem to be arguing." She told him coldly.
"I shot her…But not because I wanted to. She was starving, she was basically dead already and-"
"Shut up!" she hissed and there was suddenly a searing pain as she launched forward and dug a knife into his leg. Tony swallowed, resisting the urge to scream. Turning to Lily, he very calmly removed the weapon before a shot echoed through, and a bullet grazed his hand.
"Put the knife down." Lily ordered "Or the next one goes through it."
His chances between the two guns pointed at both him and Dale weren't too marvelous, so regretfully, he put down the weapons.
"Did you check him for anything else?" Lily asked suspiciously and Ada shook her head, looking aghast at the thought a federal agent would have dared to bring weapons. Tony was crossed between rolling his eyes or groaning at the fact he was about to get his gun and knife taken away… Unless… "Idiot." Lily muttered under her breath as she pressed the gun to Tony's temple, using her hands to run over his chest and pat him down. She gave a little smirk as she let her hands crawl down his pants before feeling the pocket where his gun sat.
"Such a shame we have to kill such a pretty guy." She snickered as she grabbed the gun and Tony smiled back, before allowing his hands to crawl to his shoe, where he knew his knife was. Leaning forward, he talked to her quietly.
"Well, as a dying man I wouldn't object to some last minute fun." He whispered, kissing her softly on the neck and felt her relaxing ever so slightly before yanking her gun arm away from him, hitting it hard enough so the weapon went flying, while he used his other hand to grab his knife and take it to her throat threateningly.
Letting out a scream of anger, Lily struggled against his hold, but he had her pinned, her body like a shield in front of him as they faced Ada who was still pointing a gun at them, unable to shoot with all the movement.
"Do not be stupid." She scowled "I can still kill him." She gestured to Dale and Tony let his knife dig further in.
"You touch him, I kill her." He threatened and the older woman stared, looking almost torn.
"I do not care for her." She said instead.
"So you would just let me kill someone else's daughter then? Without a second thought?" Tony demanded and Ada hissed before shooting Dale in the foot. There was a howl of pain from him and Tony tried not to look at all the blood.
"Do not test me. Besides…If she dies. I can easily kill you."
"You bitch. Make him let me go!" Lily howled as she struggled and Ada growled before turning the gun back on Tony.
"I will shoot you in the leg. Let us see you keep a hold of her then."
"You'll hit her." Tony warned and Ada shrugged
"She is annoying." Lily responded to this comment with a string of curses before the shots went off. Tony felt pain burst into his side as a poorly aimed bullet ripped clean through his body and he resisted the urge to gasp, blooding flooding his shirt. Lily let out a cry of anguish as the bullet had gone through her, her blood mixing in with his own. There was a loud noise that could have been a scream before something hit his head, and everything began to blur before slowing fading into black, his last images being the wooden ground beneath him next to Lily's convulsing body, both covered in blood before he allowed the darkness to take him.
So...I know. It has been forever since I've updated, and this chapter itself isn't five stars. I could give you a million excuses why I've been MIA but I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear them. I'm sorry, really, and I'll get back on the ball this month with summer rolling up. I PROMISE that this will get updated soon, if not finished, by the end of this month (about...Eh, ten or less chapters, depending on how I'm finishing it up). Anyways, please review (: I'm going to bed now.
-Kensi
