Hi guys, glad you liked the last chapter – the similarity of Tali and Amir to Tony and Jeanne was not intentional I swear but kinda fitting for this story where Tali is sort of becoming her parents
Anyway Hope you like it
Chapter 10 – A Change in the Game
Tali twisted away from Amir as he lurched towards her, she swung her fists and knocked him to the ground, instantly as she expected he knocked her legs out from under him, then he pinned her to the ground, he looked at her breathing hard before releasing her "stop holding back" he said "what" Tali said taking a drink of water "you are holding back Myka I can tell, you are letting me win" she smiled "no I am not" she said "you are imagining it" he studied her "ok then" he said "put all in, both of us, no going careful, fight till one of us is down of one surrenders deal" she studied him "are you that desperate to paralyse me" she asked, he shook his head "no I can just tell you are holding off and this seems to be the easiest way to change that"
Before Tali could respond he launched at her, she blocked his swing with ease, but she was surprised by how much strength he delivered it with, 'now who has been holding back' she thought grimly pushing him away, then she swung her leg up and round, lowering it so she didn't break his jaw so that she struck him in the chest, he staggered backwards gasping before launching towards her, she ducked his punch allowing him to strike her hip, she barely winced as his foot came in contact with her, wow could she no longer feel pain in the same way?
She shook her head to focus and launched herself at him, twisting round him at the last minute, he struggled to turn fast enough and by the time he managed to spin round, she was already waiting, she grabbed his arm as he spun it towards her, they paused as she stood there blocking his blow, he grinned at her and she grinned slyly back before using his distraction to knock him to the ground and crouch next to him "I can take you easy" she said "any day I want, I just thought you might not want to be embarrassed by me in front of everyone" they both looked up to see the gym watching them fight their unique display of moves, Tali stood then and held out her hand to Amir hauling him to his feet "still want me to give all" she asked, he stared at her panting "unbelievable" he said "you are amazing" she smiled "only part of America I liked, my fighting lessons, it helped me let loose, get rid of all that rage and hate" he nodded "I know how you feel" he said and she smiled.
They carefully packed up, Tali unwrapped her wrists from their bindings which was what everyone here did, then as she was taking a drink she heard Amir call out "hey Myka, come here" she turned and walked over to him, he was holding a small pistol "can you shoot" he asked, she shrugged "had a couple of shots in fighting lessons" he grinned and then swung the gun up to point at the target, the bullet ripped through the second to the middle ring, he raised his eyebrows "you try" he said, she shook her head "nah I am good" "ah come on Yankee" he complained, she looked at him then grabbed the gun "on one condition" he grinned "what", she turned and fired two shots, then she turned back to him "stop calling me Yankee" she said sweetly struggling not to look at his face as he stared at the metal target in the shape of a person, one bullet had gone through the centre ring, the second through the target's head.
He gaped at her "ok seriously is there anything you can't do" she thought "walk on water" she said as the bell rang then grinning at him she walked off to the girls changing room.
XOXOXO
Tony stared at the footage of his daughter sitting in the grass next to a boy, she looked so different, from her dark hair, her brown eyes, and older face, to her skin, it was darker now, the exact tone of Ziva's, she had changed. She was smiling at the boy, but he could see that it was fake, she was fake, this wasn't Tali. But the boy was gazing at her intensely; his eyes were truthful, honest, loving.
Eli spoke up "the plan has changed due to what happened today" he looked at Ziva's father "what do you mean" he asked, Eli looked at him "the boy is falling in love with your daughter" he said as though he were stating the weather. Tony swallowed, yes he could see it in the boy's eyes as he looked at Tali, he glanced over at Ziva who was staring at Tali, she looked up at her father "now what is the plan" she asked, he smiled "she will woo him, have him drooling over her, then when he invites her into his house, she can get to his father's computer and plant a bug" "father no it is too risky, if they catch her they will kill her" Ziva begged, but her father wasn't to be swayed "I have to admit Ziva, your daughter is good, she has good instincts, she would make a fine Mossad agent" Ziva glared "no" she said angrily "she won't" Tony placed a pacifying hand on her shoulder, but it did little to calm either of them.
Vance stepped forward "once the girl has done what you ask Eli, you said you would return her to us" he was trying to remain pleasant but, there was a dangerous note to his voice, Eli smiled "I know what I said Leon, and I will return her, I was just saying should she choose, she would make a fine assassin" Gibbs saw both Tony and Ziva tense, he knew as well as they did though, that Tali would never choose such a life, but that didn't mean Eli wouldn't try to sway her decision.
He looked back at the footage as another image came on, Tali and the boy circling in the ring "this is live" Eli said, everyone swallowed as they watched Tali and the boy go at each other ferociously, well the boy swung at Tali with everything he had, surprise in his eye as Tali blocked every move almost lazily, then she twisted and knocked him down, before she crouched over him, smiling, and her smile seemed different to the one they had been shown yesterday, it seemed slightly more genuine as she settled more into her role, she released him and moved away, unwrapping the padding on her wrist.
Tony looked back at Eli who was obviously watching too, he was frowning in concentration "she is doing well" he said, Tony looked back at the boy who was watching Tali as she lifted a water bottle to drink, he moved over to a shooting range, he picked up a pistol and called to Tali, she moved over uncertainly, he spoke to her before shooting at the target, he wasn't far off centre, he offered it to Tali who declined, he grinned and said something to her, whatever he said made her scowl because she took the gun, said something then turned and fired two shots, one straight in the centre, the other through the target's head, she handed him the gun and then headed off to the changing rooms.
"Not long now" Eli said smoothly "then she will have what we need and you will have what you want" Gibbs glowered at him, another image came up, it appeared to be from a button cam, it moved over and a hand reached out and pushed open a door and walked through, almost instantly there was a cry of "hey Myka" and the camera turned as the boy Amir came forward, Ziva caught her breath as she realised that the button camera belonged to Tali, this was live footage of her daughter, the boy moved towards her "so superwomen what are you doing tonight" Tali laughed "really you came up with a new nickname for me that fast, since you can't call me Yankee anymore" he grinned "ah well I like your scowl when I give you a nickname, anyway up to anything tonight", "no" Tali said, in the other screen Ziva saw her father tense, "well do you want to come back to my place, my dad won't be in till late so I am home alone, want to come study"
Tali hesitated uncertain "um" she said "ah come on Myka, just for a couple of hours, my house is only a 10 minute walk from the school" everyone was silent as they waited for Tali to make her decision, then she said "ok yeah sounds good" he grinned "well I gotta run, meet you in the car park after school" she agreed and then he disappeared, once he was out of sight, she moved out of the school and down the road to where a van was parked, she hammered on the door "Malachi" she shouted "let me in" the door opened to reveal Malachi glaring daggers at her, he grabbed her and yanked her in "are you out of your mind child what are you doing you could blow everything" she glared at him "any advice" she snapped, Malachi sat back down in his seat and studied her "don't screw up" he said "oh helpful" Tali said sarcastically "what if Elijah comes home, he might recognise me" he smiled slyly "you had better hope he doesn't then" he said, she glared at him
"where are you going to be during this" she asked, he stretched "well the van is going to be parked round the corner, but I will follow you in the car so we know where to go" "so if it goes south you will come help" she asked, he shrugged "depends on the director's orders" he said smoothly "what is I have the information but can't get out" she asked smoothly, he hesitated, then he said "give me your phone" she handed it to him.
He pointed to a button used for taking pictures "hold this down, sends out an alarm to us, we will see what we can do" Tali took the phone back and he reached for a key with a large round key chain, "oh is that our house key" she asked, he nodded "well key doesn't open anything but inside the key ring there is a small transmitter, once you are in his office put it as close as you can to the computer and it will start transmitting" she took it and stuffed it into her pocket, he raised his eyebrows at her "well go" he said "you don't want to be late for your classes" she growled and then threw the door to the van open and clambered out, then she slammed it hard and stormed back to the school.
Eli stopped the connection "see" he said smoothly "by tonight maybe we will have our information and she will be on a flight home to you" Ziva bit her lip anxious, yes if Tali succeeded tonight then she could well be on her way home, but if things went wrong, then her daughter might be headed home in a body bag "don't worry Ziva" her father said looking at her a sly smile on his face "she has the panic button, Malachi won't be far away" she glared at him, his smile simply widened "well" he said "I am going to arrange some extra surveillance, then I am going to prepare, I will contact you later"
Then before they could protest the connection was lost. Ziva sank into a seat shivering, Tony squeezed her shoulder comfortingly but when she looked up at him, his face was blank as he hid his worry, everyone just stood there, knowing that soon Tali would be right in the middle of the danger, and there would be nothing they could do to help her. Gibbs was frowning "McGee" he said quietly "do you think you could hack into that surveillance van" McGee frowned "I can't promise anything" he said "why" "because when that transmission comes on I want every bit of data they get" McGee nodded "I will give it a go" he said "I'll call Abby to help you" Gibbs said clapping the agent on the shoulder, then he joined his other two agents, now all they could do was wait.
XOXOXO
Tali found Amir waiting for her by the school gates "hey" he said excitedly "let's go" she followed him down the road chatting about their classes until they arrived at his house "wow" Tali said stopping "what" he asked "you didn't say you were rich" she said staring at the large expensive looking building behind the iron wrought fence, he smiled "sorry I don't tend to tell many people, come on, let's go in"
Tali smiled at Amir "are you sure" she asked hesitantly "what if your father doesn't like me" "tough" Amir said grabbing her hand "anyway he shouldn't be home for ages, come on" he led her to the gate, he unlocked it and took her round the back, before they disappeared round the side of the house she glanced back out and saw Malachi sitting in a car, his eyes on her, he nodded at her, then she was yanked from sight.
Amir took her in the kitchen and she smiled at him before freezing as he placed his lips to hers kissing her passionately, she froze in surprise before getting over it and hesitantly she kissed him back, and it wasn't as bad as she had originally thought kissing would be, his lips curved around hers soft and gentle, his hands at her waist holding her lovingly.
"well now Amir, is the kitchen really the place for that sort of behaviour" they both broke apart turning to see their intruder "dad" Amir said in surprise "you are home early" Elijah Kedar smiled at his son though it looked cold and untrusting "sorry did I interrupt, by all means continue" "um yeah dad this is Myka Abrams" Amir said, Elijah turned his head to look at Tali who waited for him to recognise her, to pull out a gun and shoot her where she stood, but it didn't happen "hello Myka, welcome" he said moving towards her holding out his hand, Tali forced a smile onto her face as she moved forward to shake his hand "hello Mr Kedar, thank you, it is a pleasure to meet you" she said politely, he smiled "the pleasure is all mine my dear, please call me Elijah" she nodded "thank you" she said sweetly.
"Amir is this the girl you were telling me about, the one who moved from America and bested you in fighting" Elijah asked not taking his eyes off of Tali, Amir nodded "well you are the first my dear, where did you learn to fight so well that you can beat my son" Tali smiled "I guess they do things different in America" she said, he nodded "will you be joining us for dinner" he asked "oh I couldn't possibly intrude" Tali said hurriedly, she wanted to get out and far away from Elijah Kedar "Oh no my dear I insist, it would be an honour to have you join us", Tali gulped but recovered herself "then if it is no trouble that would be wonderful, let me text my father and see if it if ok" she pulled the phone and texted Malachi saying "Amir's DAD asked me to stay for dinner, is that ok".
She wanted him to reply that she should get out of there, now that Elijah was home it was too dangerous, but the reply she got said "that sounds fine, I hope that you enjoy yourself and find out lots about Amir, will pick you up when you are done" she guessed that meant that she wasn't getting out of here until she had placed that bug, she hid her scowl then slipped the phone into her pocket, if there was a panic button on it, she wanted to have it handy through this, "my dad is fine with that" she said sweetly "he is working late anyway, so he will pick me up on his way home afterwards if that it ok" Elijah nodded "I will ask for something special to be made for dinner" he said "for our special guest" Tali had to work to hide her fear now, she was terrified.
Amir smiled "sounds cool dad come on Myka I will give you the tour and then we can start our homework" he dragged her out of the kitchen, he smiled sheepishly "sorry I thought he would be working" she smiled "that is ok" she said, she looked around "wow this place is huge" he grinned "yeah I find it a huge prison though" he said opening a door "lounge" he said, they moved in "you don't like living in a huge house" she asked, he shook his head "not when it is just for the two of us, I feel like I am drowning, suffocating in it alone, because my dad is never here" she smiled sympathetically "my dad was never really around in New York" she said "so I know what you mean, but we only had a tiny apartment, but I felt like it was crushing me" he smiled back, as they moved out of the dining room "this is my dad's office" he said.
Instantly Tali pushed her hand into her pocket and closed it around the key ring, she felt it twist and something small tumbled onto her palm as she stepped in through the door, her eyes fell on the desk with the computer resting on it "wow" she said turning away to study the wall of books "that is a lot of books have you read them all", Amir shrugged "most of them" he said she leaned against the desk and opened her hand over a small plant pot, she felt the tiny transmitter slip out of her hand and into the pot, she studied the titles on the spines, smiling "you like books" he asked, she nodded "in America I have shelves upon shelves of books, for different ages, different genres you name it I had it, when I was little you could hardly ever get me to put my book down, and at night I used to close my eyes and pretend that the books were whispering their stories to me, and I would fall asleep dreaming of those stories" he smiled at her "sounds a lot like me" he said she smiled and then said softly "books are our most quietest and most constant friends, they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors and the most patient of teachers" he looked at her and nodded "I agree" he said "it is a world of possibilities to carry in your pocket" she grinned "they teach us that anything is possible, and that it is ok to dream" they both smiled at each other
"sounds like you are very well read Miss Abrams" Tali looked over to find Elijah standing in the doorway "sorry" she said pushing away from the desk "it is fine my dear, it is nice to find another open mind who is happy to loose herself in a book" she smiled uncertainly and looked at Amir, "um we will leave you to work then dad" he said as they moved towards the door "dinner will be served in an hour and a half" he said as he watched them back out of the room, they both nodded.
As they moved up the stairs to Amir's room, Amir said quietly "um by the way sorry about kissing you in the kitchen, I wasn't thinking" he held open the door to his room for her and she entered "it was um fine Amir a little unexpected, but it was ok" "why unexpected" he asked sitting on the bed, she moved over to sit next to him "well we have known each other less than 48 hours" she said "I mean it was slightly rushed" he smiled sheepishly "sorry I guess you are right, but I just thought that it felt right" she nodded "it's ok" she said, he gazed at her "do you believe in fate" he asked, she looked back at him gazing into his eyes "I believe in the possibility" she said softly "I mean if you don't, how will you ever find it" he nodded still gazing into her eyes, she looked away uncertain.
She looked around "well you have a lot of books up here too" she said "nice room by the way" he grinned "thanks" she studied his bookshelves "your means of escape" she asked "even if only for a little while" he said, she smiled "they transport you away from pain, to a world of adventure where you are the hero, and everything turns out ok" he nodded, she turned away from the books "homework" she suggested, he nodded "science project first" he offered, "sounds good" she responded.
They settled themselves down, Tali carefully taking notes from their books and what Amir told her from where he was researching on his laptop, they got a good chunk of the project done before they were called for dinner. As she washed her hands, Tali struggled to control her breathing, she felt her stomach clench in fear, she stood there breathing slowly focusing only on that, once it was under control she joined Amir and they headed down to the dining room.
She felt quite scruffy sitting in the large chair at the dining room and she definitely didn't feel like she fit in, but she thought of her family, the sooner she got out of this the better. "so Myka" Elijah said as they began to eat some Israeli dish that she couldn't remember the name of but tasted good, she was cautious of what she drank drinking from the water only when Amir had drunk water from the same pitcher, "tell us about yourself" Tali smiled "not much to say really" she said "I was born in Tel Aviv but after my mother died when I was three my father moved us with his company the bank too America and I grew up there" "what did you think of it" he asked watching her, feeling as though she was being tested she scowled "I really didn't like it, the kids at school treated me like a terrorist because I was from Israel, so I kept to myself, that is where I found my love for books" he nodded "and you learned to fight" she nodded "good way of releasing all the stress" she said, "what do you think of your new school" he asked she smiled "well the people are a lot nicer" she said smiling at Amir who grinned back "it is a little difficult, lessons are taught differently and my Hebrew is a little rusty" he smiled "you would barely notice it if you didn't say" he said, she smiled "thank you"
"so what part of the bank does your father work for" Elijah asked nonchalantly, Tali thought "public relations" she said, that described Malachi best, controlling people by beating them up, he nodded "does he like it" she shrugged "well he works a lot so I guess so", he nodded again "you lived in New York correct" she nodded "what was that like" she thought about the time she had gone to New York with her family for her birthday one year, she had loved New York but knew she didn't want to live there "it felt like I was suffocating" she said "it felt like I was trapped, as far as you could see there were buildings, it was never quiet, when you looked up you could barely see the sky, it made you feel small and rather insignificant, and to me it felt like drowning, you couldn't breathe in the city, I mean in was a beautiful place but only for a short time, any longer there and I might have exploded" Elijah nodded "I understand" he said "did you ever go to DC" Tali hurriedly hid her alarm when he asked that, "once" she said "my father had a business trip there and I went along with him as it was the holidays" he studied her "did you like it there" she shrugged "didn't spend long enough there to make a decision" he ate a mouthful of food as he continued to study her, Tali lowered her gaze to her plate to continue eating, uncomfortable with him staring at her.
He continued to ask questions, some she could tell he wanted answers to more than others, she tried to change the subject away from her several times and although Amir joined in, his father never strayed from her life in America.
At last the meal ended and Tali smiled at them both "well I have had a lovely evening, thank you very much for having me", Elijah smiled and then looked at her "it was our pleasure my dear, we loved hearing about your past, I feel comfortable knowing you slightly better now, as Amir seems to like you a lot" his son went very red and muttered something that sounded like curses "Amir" his father said "why don't you go get Myka's bag, I will show her to the door" Amir glanced confused at his dad but did as he was told, slowly Tali stood and followed Elijah out of the dining room and down the hall to the front door where they waited for Amir to reappear with Tali's bag, Elijah studied her, Tali watched him uncertainly, then he smiled at her, but it was the same cold uncaring smile he had been wearing all evening "my son cares deeply for you" he said suddenly "I can see that" Tali lowered her head "he is very kind to me" she said "I am lucky to have him as a friend" "but you do not care for him in the same way" he asked, she looked up "I don't know" she said truthfully "I don't know how I feel"
They didn't speak again, and Tali was relieved when Amir reappeared and handed her her bag "well thank you for having me Mr Kedar and thanks Amir, I will see you tomorrow" she said she turned "yes" Elijah said "goodbye Miss DiNozzo"
Tali felt an explosion of pain as something collided with the back of her skull and she fell, she heard Amir shout out at his father, she rolled over gasping to see Amir standing over her, but his father pushed him aside roughly, he bent over her and smiled, then he struck her hard and bright lights burst forth behind her eyes and she blacked out.
XOXOXO
When she woke up she instantly winced as her head throbbed, she struggled to move but found that she was bound, her hands were cuffed tightly together and her ankles were bound too, there was also a gag in her mouth, she yanked at them angrily grunting in frustration.
"Myka" she looked over and saw Amir moving towards her, she stared at him in panic as he stared at her confused, she tugged at her restraints and looked at him pleadingly, he stared at her miserably "I can't" he whispered "my father would kill me" he crouched next to her though and tugged the gag out of her mouth "please Amir" she begged "you have to help me please" he stared at her "why did he do this to you" he asked "who are you" she stared "Amir" she began but she was interrupted.
They both looked up as Amir's father walked in, he raised his eyebrows when he saw them "I thought I told you not to talk to her Amir" he said angrily, Amir didn't respond, he just looked away, Elijah sighed and then looked at Tali "nice to see that you are finally awake Miss DiNozzo" Tali stared at him wondering how to play this "what are you talking about" she asked making her voice tremble "I don't understand" he laughed "you are a good little actress Miss DiNozzo, but not good enough"
"dad" Amir said "look I don't understand, let Myka go, she is my friend" Elijah laughed "she is not your friend Amir, she has been using you, couldn't you see, she doesn't love you, her name isn't even Myka is it my dear" Tali didn't respond, she just stared at Amir who looked at her confused "what" he said "Myka tell him it isn't true" she just gazed at him knowing it wasn't worth pretending anymore "I am sorry Amir" she whispered feeling tears in her eyes "I didn't want to hurt you" Amir stared "then who are you" he asked hurt, Elijah laughed "she is a Mossad agent Amir, sent to spy on us"
"No" Tali shouted "I am not Mossad I swear to you I am not" "well then what are you doing planting a bug in my office Miss DiNozzo" he sneered, she glared at him before looking at Amir "I am not Mossad" she persisted "I promise, I never wanted to do any of this, but I had no choice, I was forced to spy" Amir stared "why" he asked "and why you" she lowered her head as Elijah laughed again "because she is already broken aren't you my dear, you have already killed" he bent and grabbed her face "the disguise didn't fool me my dear I knew who you were the moment I saw you" "who is she" Amir shouted, Tali felt herself get yanked up, she struggled but Elijah held her tight "she is the one who killed your uncle" he said, "her name is Talia Kaitlyn DiNozzo"
There was silence as Amir digested that staring at Tali who had stopped struggling, Elijah threw her to the floor in front of Amir who stared at her "tell me it isn't true" he said hoarsely, Tali lowered her head "Amir I am sorry" she whispered "I didn't want to I swear" his eyes were slightly glassy "you killed my uncle" he whispered, "he tried to kill me" Tali cried begging Amir to understand "he tried to kill me and my family, I didn't want to but I had to do it, to protect my family" "ah yes" Elijah said "your family, tell Amir who your mother is" Tali didn't respond "Amir you remember Uncle Levi's friend don't you Elead Dayan, do you remember who killed his father" Amir nodded numbly "Ziva David" he said, he froze "no" he breathed "yes Amir, her mother is Ziva David" Elijah said "she is a born killer" "NO" Tali screamed "I never wanted to hurt anyone, all I wanted to do was get home to my family"
There was silence then Elijah smiled "ah yes home" he said "did I forget to mention that" he strode over to the window and yanked open the curtains, Tali stared out the window from which the domed top of the Capitol building was visible, Elijah smiled "welcome back to DC Talia Kaitlyn" he said.
Haha cliffhanger :D
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Mysticgirl101