A/N: My god, I'm so sorry about the wait. You see, I had it all typed up, but then my computer crashed. Meaning I had to type it all over again.
But as a reward, this chapter is longer than most.
Hope you like the chapter!
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Tony and Ziva walked into the bullpen, refreshed after a brief lunch break. McGee glanced up momentarily, then determinedly went back to his computer.
"Hey Tony, you got a letter," McGee called.
Tony strolled to his desk and peered at it cautiously.
"What's wrong?" Ziva asked. "Scared of a little letter?"
"Of course not," Tony replied. "I mean, the last time I opened a letter at work, I only got the plague."
"Long story," he abruptly replied to Ziva's questioning look.
Tony stared at the envelope. "To Anthony Michael Dinozzo" it said on the front. A suspicious feeling crawled through Tony. Nobody called him by his full name.
"You going to open it?" Ziva asked curiously from her desk.
Tony hesitated. "I don't know. It's kinda suspicious. I mean, that H embossed in the top right corner… it's totally unfamil-"
He was cut off by a shrill cry from Ziva. "Drop it!" she exclaimed. Ziva ran over to Tony's desk and examined the envelope Tony had hastily let go of.
Ziva paled underneath her already pale complexion.
"Something wrong?" Tony ventured.
Ziva took a deep breath. "That H embossed there… I've been looking at it constantly lately. This letter is from Hasalli."
An icy tremor of fear crept through Tony, leaving him more chilled than a crypt on a winter's night.
McGee sidled over to examine the envelope as well. "Look, in each corner of the H is a small letter… no, a Roman numeral. There's two on the bottom left corner. If you read them clockwise starting from the top left corner they say XVIII."
Ziva picked up McGee's trail of thought. "XVIII… eighteen." She glanced at the envelope. "Number eighteen… Head #18. I think this is from our mysterious friend Nick Ferenazah…"
A silence ensued.
But then, Gibbs sauntered into the squadroom, a coffee in his hand. "Got anything on Kate?" he asked his huddled team.
There was no response. Finally, Ziva spoke up. "I think there's something else we have to focus on at the moment…"
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In an office somewhere, a mobile phone was ringing. A pale hand grabbed it and pressed Call Accept.
"Mr. Ferenazah?" the voice on the other end asked.
"That's me," the man replied.
"Just confirming that the assignment you requested has been successfully completed. The recipient has not opened the letter yet though. It is currently in the hands of an NCIS lab technician, an Abby Sciuto."
Nick Ferenazah smiled. "Good," he replied.
He pressed the Call End button and placed his phone back in his pocket, a trace of a cruel smirk lingering on his lips.
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Tony stared down at the letter. Its contents sent a shiver surging through him.
To Anthony Michael Dinozzo,
I hope you have enjoyed your life so far. After all, it may end soon.
I'm after you.
Let the games begin.
- You know who I am
The words chiseled into his mind. He could be dead soon. Someone was after him.
But the last line was the scariest. "Let the games begin." There was more to come. And he had no idea what.
Abby had declared the envelope safe a few minutes ago. No powders, no objects, no foreign substances. All the envelope contained was a letter.
Tony wished that it had contained some unknown substance. Then, Abby would've found out and would've never let him touch the letter. That way, he wouldn't have had to read this.
His thoughts were broken as Gibbs entered the bullpen, followed by an attractive blonde woman.
"This is the woman who placed the letter on your desk," Gibbs introduced. "Her name is Jessica and she works here as a receptionist."
Jessica smiled. "Hi," she greeted somewhat shyly.
Gibbs frowned slightly. "Miss Airiton, how did you come across the letter?"
"I don't know… it was just with the regular mail. I figured it was an agent here, so I looked him up and placed it on his desk."
"So you didn't see who handed in the letter?" Gibbs asked rather disappointedly.
"Sorry no…" Jessica Airiton replied. "It was probably just the postman."
"Okay. Thanks for your help."
Gibbs turned away. "McGee!" he yelled. "Examine the security footage of the mailbox. See if anything useful turns up."
As Gibbs left the squadroom, everybody went back to their work.
"Um, excuse me?" a dainty female voice right in front of Tony asked. He looked up, startled. It was Jessica Airiton. Tony found that if he looked straight ahead, he would be staring right at her…
A hand waved in front of Tony's face and he quickly returned to reality. Past the busty blonde's shoulders, he could see Ziva peering at him interestedly.
"Yes?" Tony finally asked.
"I'm just wondering… did you happen to know Kate?"
The question took Tony by surprise. "Yes… I was her colleague."
"Oh… that's nice…" The woman sighed, eyes drifting away.
Tony saw tears glisten in the woman's eyes. "Um, Miss Airiton? Are you okay?" he asked concernedly.
"Oh, yes, sorry," Jessica said tearfully. "It's just that sometimes… I miss her… I was a college friend of Kate's. I saw your picture at her apartment…" She broke into sobs.
Sniffling, she took the tissue Tony was offering.
"…So I thought you might've known her and I don't know… I was just curious, I guess…" Jessica wiped her eyes with the tissue and smiled faintly.
Tony had a sudden urge to console her, tell her that Kate was still alive. But he knew he couldn't.
"Well, I should get back to work," she said. Jessica walked off, her wide hips sashaying gracefully.
As she reached the elevator, she turned back. "Oh yeah," she called, a hint of flirtation in her voice. "You can call me Jess."
The elevator doors opened with a ding, and she stepped in. Tony swore that as the doors closed, Jess had given him a suggestive wink.
Tony sat at his desk, musing. A little over a year ago, he would've been interested.
Blonde. Hot. Confident. The type he used to like.
But then he had realised he had feelings for Kate. But he had been too scared to tell her.
And then, she had died. On that rooftop. At least, he thought she had died.
But now, there was hope again.
He would get her back.
He would tell her how he felt.
A surge of determination burst through him.
But then, it subsided as he glanced down at the letter on his table.
He would find this Nick Ferenazah.
He would stay alive.
But for some reason, there was no confidence in either of those thoughts.
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A/N: Haha… has anyone figured out who Nick Ferenazah is yet? I've given you a teeny clue in this chapter, but it's possible to figure it out who it is without the clue. If you've figured it out, please don't post it in a review. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't click the button below and review.
P.S: Can anyone tell me what AU means?
