Author's Note:

Thanks to everyone who left a review!:)

All Errors Are My Own:( Sorry!

P4TH

EDITED 02/01/2014


Chapter Eight: Bad Things

"When you came in the air went out.
And every shadow filled up with doubt.
I don't know who you think you are,
But before the night is through,
I wanna do bad things with you.

I'm the kind to sit up in his room.
Heart-sick and eyes filled up with blue.
I don't know what you've done to me,
But I know this much is true:
I wanna do bad things with you.
OK.

When you came in the air went out.
And all those shadows there are filled up with doubt.
I don't know who you think you are,
But before the night is through,
I wanna do bad things with you.
I wanna do real bad things with you…"

~ "Bad Things" – Jace Everett

Poppy walked into the Roosevelt Hotel at five o'clock on Friday and went to the front desk where she received a key to one of the fifty-two suites in the hotel from a lady with a pleasant smile. Stepping on the elevator, Poppy silenced her cell phone.

Vance and Gibbs had decided to read the team in while she was away. She was expecting a call from a McGee begging for forgiveness that she wouldn't give. She resolved that she'd move on from him. Gibbs had been right about moving on. The pain was lessening as time passed. Besides, if McGee only wanted her back because of the fact she hadn't cheated and Crystal wasn't pregnant, his reasons were wrong. Nothing would change the fact that his trust in her and their marriage was lacking. She may have been able to forgive the rest but his lack of trust would always be a problem. He didn't trust her like she'd trusted him and that caused bitterness and hurt.

The private elevator ride was quick and Poppy stepped off to a floor near the top of the building. Walking down the hall to the suite, Poppy put the key in the door and opened it. The suite was empty and it didn't surprise her. Sergei had a flare for the theatrics and it was made him such a good agent. He was creative and had the ability to get himself out of a jam no matter what the situation was. The suite was in three rooms. A large sitting room that was richly furnished with windows gave a beautiful view. The bedroom was dominated by a single king size bed and off the bedroom was a modest bathroom. The long, thin rectangular table behind one of the couches that faced each other had a vase of at least two dozen roses and a card.

Picking up the card on opening it, Poppy smiled seeing Sergei's note.

A dress for dinner is in the closet. We have to catch up moy malen'kiy shpion.

Sergei

"My little spy," she read out loud, "Sweet endearment Sergei."

Walking to the bedroom and opening the closet doors, Poppy smiled even more seeing the dress and everything that she needed to get dressed up for dinner.


"I knew that dress would be stunning on you."

Poppy looked in the mirror to see Sergei standing in the large arched doorway to the bedroom with a wolfish smile.

"You don't clean up too bad either in that tux," she replied looking over the younger man's form. Thick dark hair covered his head and his dark eyes were filled with amusement. Sergei was taller than most men and had an athletic built that included broad shoulders and a narrow, trimmed waist and hips. The first time she'd met Sergei in Moscow, he'd told her that regardless of one's occupation, dressing well was required. Every time she met him since then he was always in expensive clothing that had been tailor perfectly to his form. Being the son of a Russian billionaire had its perks and Poppy assumed Sergei enjoyed that money quite a bit if his gifts were anything to go by.

"Moy angel," he said as he walked towards her causally with a hand in his black dress pants pocket.

"I'm not an angel, Sergei. You know that."

"Ah, that's where we disagree. An angel you are. You just haven't gone to heaven yet, milaya."

"Dear heart?" Poppy asked raising an eyebrow, "Your girlfriend is jealous right now, I think."

"What girlfriend?" Sergei said coming to stand behind her and bring his lips close to her ear, "She's a lgun and you are moye zoloto."

Poppy smiled and looked at the dress in the mirror. The dress was pleated blue with cording around the waist. It was sleeveless with openings under the arms that made a 'v' shape where her arms were. The back of the dress was completely open and extremely low cut in the front.

Sergei's hands went down over her hips to her hands. He clasped them within in his bigger ones and raised his dark brow.

"No wedding rings, milaya?"

"He left me for another woman."

"Tsk. He's lost a stunning woman, moy angel. Are you ready to go?"

"Go?"

"Don't think I'd made you get dressed up and then keep you to myself," Sergei grinned, "Women like you are meant to be shown off. I'd be a horrible man if I kept your beauty to myself but one thing before we go."

Sergei took out a black box from his pocket and smiled, "Happy Birthday, moye zoloto."

Poppy smiled, "It's not for another two weeks."

"I won't be here for it," he told her with a smile as he opened the first box. He pulled out a large diamond pendent on the silver chain.

"May I?" Sergei asked with a smile.

Poppy watched as he put the necklace round her neck and attached the hook. The diamond lay between her beasts and the cold metal almost made her shiver.

"Perfection," Sergei told her softly, "I was right about everything."

"You always are Sergei," Poppy whispered, "Where are we going?"


McGee followed Tony and Ziva into Gibbs' kitchen. When Vance had called them on a Friday night asking to come to Gibbs' house, they had all been surprised. Gibbs was standing at the coffee pot and his kitchen table was scattered with pictures.

"What's up boss?" Tony asked picking up a picture and looking at it.

"Vance will be here in a moment. You're being read into an operation," Gibbs replied without looking up, "This is about national security of the highest level."

"What kind of operation is this?" Ziva asked.

"The kind that is above top secret."

McGee felt his stomach drop at that phrase. Poppy had used that phrase before when she'd tried to explain things to him that she could explain.

"Above top secret?" Tony said, "Cool."

"Right now, about eleven people know about this operation in the whole country and after tonight, fourteen people will know. Beyond that no one knows and it will be kept that way."

Vance knocked on the back door and walked in as he stuffed his phone in his pocket, "That was Noor. She's meeting with her contact over dinner apparently. She thinks that she might be a few days depending on how much information this Ivankov has."

"Did she say anything about what Ivankov will tell her?" Gibbs asked.

"No. She called from a suite at the Roosevelt Hotel. That's all she told me then hung up. She did tell me though that Sergei Ivankov and her go back years. Anything he gives us in person is extremely vital to our operation."

"What's Noor doing in New York?" Tony asked, "Why isn't she here?"

"Poppy Noor has been the driving force and an asset to this operation," Vance replied, "She's meeting with a contact named Sergei Ivankov that may have information that can lead us to the recovery of Halo."

"What is Halo?" Ziva asked crossing her arms and leaning against a wall.

"Halo is a list of every undercover agent from around the world. Specifically the Middle East, Central America, Africa and South Asia. France has a similar list called The Principle as do the British. About a week ago Halo was stolen by a team of armed men. As of yet, we don't know who they are, but we believe that Jonathan Heritage is the head of this new terror organization."

"I've heard that name before," Tony said, "I asked Noor if she still was denying that she cheated on McGeek when she said Jonathan Heritage."

"You all better sit down," Vance said, "This will take time to explain."

"Start from the beginning," Ziva requested as she sat next to a pale McGee.

"Two years ago female Navy officers began to disappear. We didn't know who or why but all these woman had high clearance to sensitive information. A small task force was put together to find the woman. What was found, instead was link between the woman, Jonathan Heritage. We inserted an agent into the situation to get close to Heritage. Noor's job was to collect information about the man, the girls and what was happening to them."

"What information did she recover?" Ziva asked.

"At the time, we didn't know that some of the girls were being tortured for secrets, but we knew they were all sold into the sex trade. Noor recovered information that a seventeenth girl was going to be sold in Kabul. She and Ivankov went to intercept them when Heritage was identified with Ali Jericho. He's a financier for terror cells in the Middle East. That's when we realized that the sex trade was a rouse. Heritage's main business was selling American secrets to terrorist. Unfortunately, the operation went badly. Noor was tortured and she went off the grid for two months. The Russian's tipped us off to where she was in Afghanistan, but by the time we got to her, she had five bullets in her chest and Heritage was gone."

"Do we know where Heritage is at Boss?" Tony asked.

"No. What we do know is that in the past few months, Heritage has been sneaking what we believe to be perspective buyers of this information in and out of the country," Gibbs answered.

"Why do you think that?" Ziva asked.

"Every time he contacted Noor, a buyer is snuck out of the country. Yuri Ezitka was the buyer we managed to catch on camera when Heritage visited Noor at a restaurant. The two other buyers are still unidentified but we're hoping with the information Noor gives us, we can track them down. However, we are pressed for time. About a week ago, Heritage and Ali Jericho were photographed leaving a Swiss bank. It's believed that they put the stolen French and British lists in the bank and we hope that they will be arrogant and put Halo and the Russian secrets they stole steal in one safety box along with the French and British lists," Vance said.

"How did they know where Halo would be?" Tony asked, "How were they able to steal that?"

"A mole. We will be taking care of it in a minute," Vance continued.

"What will our role be in all this?" Ziva asked.

"Helping find the Halo and stopping Heritage from selling any of those lists," Gibbs said quietly.


Poppy tossed the silver beaded clutch that Sergei had given her to take to dinner on the same table that his letter had been on when she'd arrived. A champagne glass appeared in front of her and she smiled.

"Have we not had enough pleasure?" she asked picking up the glass.

"There's no such thing," Sergei told her as he walked over the safe that was in the bedroom, "Besides, what I have to give you is champagne worthy. My hard work deserves a toast."

"You flatter yourself Sergei."

He laughed, "Everyone woman tells me that."

"It's true."

Sergei came back with a Sim card, "You going to love me for this."

"What is it?" Poppy asked with a raised brow.

"A copy of Heritage's cell phone records," Sergei grinned.

"How?"

"A person in Heritage entourage is one of us. They got it."

"What's on it?"

"Three phone numbers. One belongs to-"

"Yuri Ezitka," Poppy finished for him as she took the Sim card out of his hands.

"There is something else," Sergei continued as he took out a file from under his arm and put it on the table. Poppy turned and opened the top of a stack of papers was a picture of Heritage with a woman on the large veranda of a villa somewhere in the Mediterranean.

"The woman we cannot identify, but contacts have told me that she's simply known as Ledi."

"The Lady? How original…do we have any Intel on her?"

"Not at the present moment. People around her don't live long once they've found out personal details about her. What we do know is that she's the head of a crime organization called The Ruka."

"The Hand? That's funny."

"Don't underestimate the power of her influence Poppy. Her organization is the biggest supplier to illegal arms dealing. The Hand came to power after the end of the USSR. Who do you think got most the weapons after the collapse? She did. She's been supplying most of the world with arms and foreign secrets. I believe that Heritage is working for her if not with her."

"Impressive Sergei," Poppy whispered.

"I try to be," he said softly as she turned away from a moment.

Poppy closed her eyes feeling Sergei's finger tips brush against her spine. Warmth pooled low in her belly. His fingertips traveled up her spine touching each dip and raise of her vertebrae. A rational part of her said that she should stop Sergei but another part of her wanted his touch. She wanted to be wanted by someone. It had been over a year since anyone had touched her the way Sergei would touch her…the way she wanted Sergei to touch her.

His hands moved to her shoulders and he slowly run his hands over her skin. Her brain screamed at her to stop the insanity that was about to happen, but she wanted Sergei. They had always had a spark between them and she wanted to know if it could catch fire even if for one night only.

She set down the glass of wine and turned to look at him, "I can't do this."

"Yes...yes you can, moye zoloto," he countered, "What's stopping you? A husband? He's gone. No, you want me and I want you. We've wanted each other for a long time and here is our chance. Think of it. One night of forbidden passion is ours for the taking. Say it moye zoloto, say you don't want me and I'll leave for a separate room."

Poppy could feel herself fighting the idea. He was forbidden fruit. He was seven years younger than her and a spy for a country that she didn't fully trust. The agent in her screamed to take the Sim card and run back to Washington as fast as she could so they could get the information they needed and the woman in her begged for Sergei fingers and his lips on her body.

"Say it, Poppy," he whispered as his lips ghosted over her neck and shoulder, "Say you don't want me to touch you."

In that moment, her will and resolve snapped. Her fingers twisted in his rich dark hair and his lips crashed into hers with a force that nearly knocked her off her feet. She didn't know how it happened, but she quickly found herself being lowered onto the bed and Sergei's lips, fingers and tongue attacking her body with a passion that would have made her weak in the knees had she been standing. Poppy pushed the world away and she let herself get lost in the moment Sergei had created.


Tim sat on Gibb's couch nursing the cup of coffee that he'd been drinking. The entire night had been crazy and he'd taken a break from trying to find the two other potential buyers that Heritage was interested in. The greatest revelation had been that Poppy had never lied to him. She'd been telling him the truth from the very beginning. Vance had spent hours going over every detail of the operation with them and explaining the details that Poppy had spent months putting together. She'd been the driving force behind everything. Her connections in the Middle East rivaled Ziva's and her connections from around the world made her a valued at asset at any agency. She'd taken her mother's network and only improved on it by leaps and bounds. However, there was one file that Gibbs had kept closed.

McGee looked at the cover of the file and knew what lay beneath it. Poppy had endured two months of torture for information that she had made sure she didn't know. In the end, she'd taken five bullets to the chest to protect the people who had the information that she'd collected. She'd spent months alone in a military hospital in Germany and guilt flooded him. She'd called him and he'd never listened to the messages. He'd never bothered to figure out where she'd gone. He'd just assumed that she'd run off with the man in the pictures who now had a name. She'd spent weeks in pain and suffering while he'd been going on with his life thinking that she was off with the man somewhere. That she'd quit working and was living off her trust fund on the beach with a martini like she'd joked about doing so many times.

Her breakdown weeks ago made sense now. She'd been tortured and God only knew what had happened to her. She'd endured his bitter words knowing they weren't true and she'd been the one to figure out that Crystal was a spy. He'd read her reports and had seen the video tapes from the night he'd asked for a divorce. She'd chosen his life in exchange for a supposed lifetime of misery. She'd begged a terrorist for his life and in the end, she had been forced to do something she didn't want to do to keep him safe. She'd done it at his apartment too when Crystal had proven to be the distraction so that Heritage could call. The call had been recorded on her cell phone and he'd heard it. She'd left without hesitation and had run away as far as she could. McGee suddenly wished he could take back every word he'd ever said to her about the affair. He should have known that she would never do that. Poppy had her flaws, but she was loyal to a fault and everything in these files bore evidence to that unshakeable loyalty.

Yes, the evidence against her had been damning with the photographs that had been sent to him by Jenny Shepard, but he should have trusted Poppy when she said that it was an operation. She was CIA. It was her job to collect information and he should have known that. He should have listened to her but he'd chosen to let an anonymous email taunt him and torment him instead of talking to his wife. Gibbs had told him earlier that the day he'd learned the truth was when Poppy had been forced to leave the apartment because she was willing to break all ethics and tell him the truth. Everything had fallen apart and McGee felt like he was guilty for the breakdown of their relationship. He hadn't treated her the way he'd always promised himself would. He'd promised in his own marriage vows that he'd treat her lovingly no matter what and he hadn't done that at all. In fact, he'd done the complete opposite. He'd treated her with scorn and hate. Opening the file, McGee felt nauseous when he saw the first picture.

Poppy had a black eyes and a swollen lip. Her cheek was cut and there were bruises around her neck. She was dressed in a hospital gown and sitting up in bed. She wasn't even looking in the camera but McGee could see that there was a dead look in her eyes that was haunting.

"Nothing good is going to come out reading that file McGee," Gibbs said as he walked in, "I would just close it."

"I can't do that," McGee said quietly, "She…she was tortured for weeks and I sat here at home. Going out on dates with Crystal and…she was fighting just to stay alive for one more day. She gave me the password to get into the system, too. She told me one day to check and I…I thought she was lying. I was stupid and I've lost her because of it Gibbs. I know that the pictures and everything was convincing, but I should…I should have dug deeper than just taking those pictures at face value. Now, she's left and I've got a woman living with me who is using me to get American secrets and who is faking a pregnancy."

"Crystal will be taken care of soon. In the meantime, there is something you can do McGee," Gibbs said, "You can go fight for Poppy to come back. If I remember right you still have that envelope with divorce papers in your desk. Throw them out and get back in the ring and fight for her. You have to prove that you love and trust her after everything that has happened because by every action you've done, you've proved the exact opposite. It might turn out that Poppy meets someone else and falls in love McGee but I know that you won't let that happen without fighting to the very bitter end."

"She's not gonna forgive me after this Boss," McGee said dejectedly.

"You don't know that. She loves you and you love her. Yeah, there is lots of crap between the two of you that you have to work out, but it's not too late to try and make this work McGee."

"I don't know Gibbs."

"She married you right? She dated you right? She picked you out all the other guys in world and that should mean something to you. She has sat in this house and cried enough tears to fill my bathtub over you. She wouldn't cry over you if you didn't mean something to her. Show her McGee all the reasons why you love her and you two love each other. Just don't let her be the one that got away. Now go home and get some sleep."

McGee nodded and left without the file.

"I thought you told Noor to forget about him and move on," Vance said, "You told her to sign the papers and let him go."

"She's afraid that McGee hates her and doesn't love her anymore. He's afraid that she won't forgive him for the colossal mess that they're in. McGee needs to go after her and prove that he still loves her and doesn't hate her. It will make it easy for Noor to forgive him. Besides, chasing her will remind them both why they fell in love with each other."

"You're forgetting about a basic building block of any relationship Gibbs. Trust."

"I can't give them that, but I can put them on the right path to getting that trust back."

"I hope to hell you know what you're doing," Leon replied as he crossed his arms.

"So do I Leon," Gibbs replied watching McGee back out of his driveway.


Gibbs was sitting at his desk when his cellphone rang late Saturday morning.

"It's me," Noor said quickly, "We got it wrong!"

"What?" Gibbs said standing up quickly and snapping his fingers at McGee and DiNozzo, "Where are you?"

"Sergei and I just left the Roosevelt." Poppy said quickly, "Sergei was able to get a copy of Heritage's Sim card from his phone. He also had pictures of Heritage meeting with the leader of a crime organization based out of Kazakhstan. The leader is known as Ledi or the Lady."

"You think that Heritage is working with the organization?" Gibbs asked as he, McGee and DiNozzo went up the stairs to MTAC. They quickly got in and Gibbs put the phone on speaker phone, "We're tracking you now. Noor, do you think that Heritage is working for this organization?

"I don't know Gibbs, but I do have the numbers for the other two people Heritage has been sneaking in and out of the US along with Yuri Ezitka. It's on the chip. I'm trying to get back to Washington, but I'm pretty sure that I'm being followed Gibbs. The woman who gave me the key to my room yesterday was shot dead this morning at point blank range at the desk. The hotel has been evacuated but whoever shot her may know that I met with Sergei. I don't think they know what we exchanged Gi-"

The line was cut off by some kind of explosion and McGee felt his stomach drop as screams and sirens became background noise.


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