Monday, September 27, 2004.

Back in Washington, Ari was going through a trial by fire with the whole "Criminal Investigative" thing. He managed to catch a break after about a week.

"Yeah, sure, Duck." Gibbs snapped his phone shut and turned to Ari. "Officer Haswari, get over here, now."

"Yes, Agent Gibbs?"

"Doctor Mallard's vehicle was involved in a slight accident. You received your medical training from the same University as Dr. Mallard. Right or wrong?"

"Is this going somewhere?" Head-slap.

"Can you examine the body of our dead Petty Officer and possibly tell me when and how he died?"

"Certainly."

Ari started looking over the Petty Officer's body, humming the theme from Jeopardy as he did so. After about five minutes, he stood up and faced Gibbs.

"Well?" Gibbs demanded.

"He died between four and five hours ago," Ari answered. "His death is possibly due to some kind of poison; I saw this same skin discoloration when a fellow Mossad Operative was killed in 2002. The poison is likely radioactive, but not enough to kill us since it has had a chance to metabolize."

NCIS Medical Examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard arrived shortly after Ari gave Gibbs his findings.

"You're a little late," Gibbs joked to Ducky.

"Thank you for the welcome, Jethro," Ducky joked back. "To whom do we have the pleasure?"

Gibbs checked his notes. "Petty Officer Second Class Jack Martin. Duck, after you called and said you'd be late, I had Officer Haswari look over the body."

"And what did he find?" Ducky asked through gritted teeth.

"Floors yours," Gibbs said to Ari.

Dr. Mallard, I estimate that Petty Officer Martin died anywhere between four and five hours ago due to a dose of possibly radioactive poison," Ari said, crouching next to Ducky. he opened his mouth to say something else, but his Mossad Assassin Senses started tingling. He jumped to his feet, placing his hand on his sidearm.

"Ari, are you having a fit?" Kate asked.

"Someone's watching us," Ari replied.

"That would be Gibbs," McGee chimed in.

"No. It is somebody else." Ari scanned every building around the crime scene before stopping on an abandoned office building. "There. It's where I would go if I did not want to be spotted."

"Check it out," Gibbs ordered. "Take Agent Todd with you and don't forget your radios."

Kate and Ari nodded and took off for the building. There was just one problem: The door was locked.

"Got any bright ideas?" Kate asked.

"Just one," Ari answered, pulling a knife out of his pocket.

"You're going to cut our way in?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Caitlin. This knife has a glass-breaker on it. It does exactly what its name implies it does."

"If it's a glass-breaker, why is there brain matter on it?"

"Last resort. Stand back." Ari shattered enough of the window so that he could stick his hand through the window and unlock the door.

"You know what no one likes, Ari?"

"What would that be, Caitlin?"

"No one likes a show-off."

"From you, I will take that as a compliment." Ari slipped the knife back into the pocket and opened the door, "Après vous, Caitlin."

"Stop playing grab-ass and get moving," Gibbs snapped over the radio.

"My apologies," Ari said, following Kate inside.

"Rule Number Six: Never say you're sorry."

Someone moved on the second floor. The deserted building amplified the sound, and Kate & Ari soon had their weapons drawn. They followed the noise to the rear of the building and the single staircase that led anywhere but out.

"You're on point," Kate said. Ari nodded, taking the lead up the stairs.

The stairwell was so small that it would have been impossible for the other person in the building to go down the stairs without knocking Kate or Ari over. The noise began to get more distant. The person making the noise was either moving upstairs or away from the staircase.

The second floor was clear, as were the third and fourth. The fifth floor, however, was a different story. The person that was watching the team was there, holding an M-14 with a sniper's scope attached to it.

"Drop the weapon," Kate ordered.

"I cannot do that," the man answered.

"She said drop your weapon," Ari snapped.

"I cannot do that, Officer Haswari."

Ari cocked the hammer on his weapon. "How do you know my name?"

"You do not recognize me? I should feel insulted."

Ari lowered his weapon and studied the man's face. After about 3 seconds, his gun was pointed at the man's head.

"Eschel, you are supposed to be dead," Ari snapped. "Director David shot you personally for betraying the Mossad to VEVAK."

"Perhaps your daddy should have worked on his aim," Eschel snapped back. "He missed my heart by a centimeter."

"What the hell's going on in there?" Gibbs asked over the radio.

""The man that has been watching us is former Mossad Officer Namir Eschel," Ari responded. "Do I have permission to shoot him?"

"No. Bring him in."

"Understood. Namir Eschel, you are under arrest for Espionage, Treason, and Crimes Against the State of Israel."

"You cannot do anything on American Soil."

"If I was not working with NCIS, you would be dead."

"But what would your sister say? Oh, I remember Ziva. She is a nice girl and all, but she comes off as a bit of a slu-"

Ari wrapped his free hand around Eschel's throat. "Ziva may be my Control Officer, but she is STILL my baby sister. And you DO NOT talk about her like that. EVER! If you even think about calling her something that vile again, I will rip your tongue out and shove it down your throat. Nod if you understand."

"Did he nod, Officer Haswari?"

Ari knocked Eschel out before answering. "He did, Agent Gibbs."

"Good. Cuff him and bring him in."

"Ari, do you hear that?" Kate asked.

"Hear what?" Ari asked, cuffing Eschel.

"Listen."

Ari strained his ear and heard it: A faint beeping noise. Eschel had placed a bomb somewhere in the building.

"I have a suggestion," Ari said, hoisting Eschel onto his good shoulder and grabbing the M-14.

"What would that be?" Kate asked.

"RUN!"

They took off running, Ari a step behind Kate, trying to balance Eschel and the rifle. The bomb detonated as soon as Kate and Ari cleared the building. By this point, Ducky had loaded Petty Officer Martin and left.

"That was a good catch," Gibbs told Ari.

"Thank you," Ari replied. "Put the M-14 in the truck and drop Eschel in the sedan. McGee!"

"Yes, boss?" McGee answered.

"You're driving the truck back to the Navy Yard. Try and keep up."

McGee nodded and headed to the truck.

"What about the building?" Ari asked. "It did explode by our crime scene."

"Let the FBI worry about it," Gibbs said, heading to the sedan.

"Shotgun," Kate & Ari said at the same time. Kate elbowed Ari in the gut and took off running. Ari took a deep breath and took off at full speed after Kate. She still beat him.

"It's for the best," Gibbs said. "If he wakes up, I want you to be able to subdue him."

Ari nodded and climbed into the sedan as Gibbs put his foot through the floor. Luckily, Eschel didn't come to at any point before the team returned to the Navy Yard.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to upload this chapter. Keep reviews coming. Next chapter, a few Kate/Ari moments...