Sorry for the long wait in between updates (between work and selling my house...no time to write). Thank you for all the reviews, alerts, etc. Hope everyone enjoys.
Six Weeks Later
It had started out like any typical day since Kate had moved in—he waking up to his beautiful fiancée. She opening her eyes to meet his gaze—a sleepy smile gracing her face before snuggling deeper against his warm body and breathing in his intoxicating scent.
"Mmm, good morning," she whispered before lightly kissing his bicep. "You going in early today?"
"Maybe," he whispered back as he rolled onto his side—facing her—and traced her hip before gripping her ass cheek, massaging it slowly. "I love waking up to you." He kissed her nose.
Her fingers combed through his hair. "Ditto." Throwing her leg over his hip, she pulled him closer—his semi-erect cock brushing against her wet curls. "Want to make love, Silver Fox?" She couldn't resist using Abby's nickname.
It earned her a boyish grin. "Took the words right out of my mouth, baby." He then captured her lips in a hard, scorching kiss.
They had made slow, sweet love with each other before hopping into the shower together. After getting dressed, they'd gone downstairs—where he'd started a pot of coffee and then let Toni out in the yard and she'd toasted two English muffins before slathering them both with some butter and strawberry preserves.
Sitting down at the table, they'd eaten in relative silence—both reading the morning paper, but occasionally breaking the silence to throw out a date for the wedding. Neither had been able to decide on a date that suited the other.
They'd then decided to ride into work together—both had been equally surprised when Tony stepped into the elevator with the two of them after only two weeks of medical leave. Two weeks ago, Tony had almost died for pneumonic plague—but according to himself, he needed to get back to work. He had been going stark raving mad at home—needing to do something productive instead of twiddling his thumbs. Gibbs had wanted him to go home—told Tony that he looked like crap and he had another week coming to him. But Tony had insisted and Gibbs had let him stay.
By then, Kate received a phone call from the Virginia State Police—who received an anonymous phone call about two dead sailors outside of Fredericksburg. Responding to the call—they'd discovered both men were murdered execution style with the driver's hands having been chopped off.
Gibbs had gone back up to the road to wait for Ducky while Kate, McGee and Tony stayed at the car to process the rest of the crime scene. He had started talking with Ducky—when he finally arrived—who happened to be ripping into Palmer for getting lost for the hundredth time—when he had heard Kate and McGee shouting:
"It's the car…"
"It's triggered to…"
Before he'd time to react to what they'd screamed—a blast rocked them all. He'd hit the deck—covering his head only to have a burnt tire come crashing near it. He'd immediately turned around—looking near the murder scene when he heard Kate's scream.
"Tony!"
Tony grunted as he reached the top of the road. "Boss, remember when I said that I never felt better?" Referring to what Gibbs said earlier in the morning—about Tony not being ready to return to work. "I lied." He then collapsed on the ground.
Upon returning to Headquarters, that's when the whole day when to hell in a hand basket.
"Is there a Leroy Jethro Gibbs here?" A Middle Eastern accent reached Kate's ears.
She raised her eyes and looked at the woman—a quite striking woman, to be exact. Kate raised her eyebrows and wondered what this woman wanted with her fiancée. "Yes, there is. May I ask what you want with him?"
"That's need to know."
Kate smiled sweetly, but spoke harshly, "Oh, honey, I need to know."
"Kate," Gibbs drawled as he walked up behind the mystery woman, "be nice to her." He went over to his fiancée's desk and leaned down to whispered in her ear.
The mystery woman watched the interaction between the two agents—wondering what kind of relationship the two of them had. "Agent Gibbs?"
"Yes, that's me. What do you need…?" He trailed off, not knowing the woman's name—hoping she would provide it.
And she did. "Officer Ziva David. Mossad." She wet her lips before continuing, "Do you have a place that we can talk?" Her eyes flicked to Kate and she quickly added, "Privately."
He saw everything. "We have a place to talk, but Agent Todd comes with us."
"That's unacceptable."
"Well, I guess we're not talking then. Now, if you'll excuse me—we have a case to solve and I need to find out who tried to kill my team today." He went over to his desk.
Ziva mulled for a few seconds. She really needed to tell Agent Gibbs the information she had. She couldn't leave without doing so—her conscience won't let her. She huffed loudly, "Fine, she can listen in."
Gibbs motioned with his hand for Ziva to follow him—Kate bringing up the rear—to one of the empty interrogation rooms. All three walked into the room—Kate and Ziva taking both chair since Gibbs made the decision to stand.
"Agent Gibbs…"
"Just call me Gibbs. What do you want to talk to me about?"
"You get right to the point." She waited a beat. "Ari Haswari."
Kate was the first to mutter a curse. "What about that fucking bastard?" She still hadn't gotten over the two times that she'd been in his company—first time being held hostage in Autopsy and the second being kidnapped by him.
Ziva ignored Agent Todd's comment—or at least tried to. "He's gone off the grid. I haven't heard from him in weeks."
"Where is he?" Gibbs asked straight forwardly.
"I don't know. He's supposed to check in with me once a week."
Kate voiced her presence once more. "You lost him? And instead of looking for him—you're here talking to us."
"Look, I don't know who the hell you are—or as to why you're here in this room right now—but you obviously know nothing about intelligence ops."
Leaning forward—invading Ziva's personal space—Kate sneered, "I might not know much about intelligence ops—but I do know that bastard named Ari Haswari—since I have been graced by his presence on two separate occasions. He held me and two others hostage in the very building—put a fucking bullet in one of them, named Gerald. Put a bullet in Gibbs' shoulder, too. And then months later, he kidnapped me in order to figure out which helicopter was Marine One. As to why I'm here—in this room—just ask Gibbs," she pointed a finger at her fiancée.
He simply stated, "Kate's my fiancée, Officer David. Now that you two ladies have cleared up your difference with each other, let's get down to business." He pointedly looked at Ziva.
"You probably know, Gibbs, that he was trying to breach Al-Qaeda. He had been working—up until a month ago—with the FBI on trying to locate an Al-Qaeda cell here in Washington D.C." Ziva paused for a moment of two—to let what she told them sink in.
Gibbs spoke up, "Did his mission—in any way—has him coming to the states?"
Ziva shook her head. "Not that I know of. But I'm only aware of the bare bones of the mission. Nothing more than that. The Director of the FBI contacted the Director of Mossad—to inform him of some chatter that the FBI picked up two days ago. It concerned you, Gibbs."
"How so?" This time Kate asked—the hostility gone from her voice.
"Both Directors believe that Ari has gone rogue." She didn't want to admit that they might be right. "Gibbs, he intends to kill you."
"Hello."
Kate fought the urge to hang up—she hated feeling this way and Rachel would instantly hear it in her voice. But she needed to talk to her sister. "Hey, Rach, it's me."
"What a pleasant surprise!" Rachel exclaimed. "How are you doing?"
Kate swallowed. "I've been better—it's been a rough two weeks."
"Just a rough two weeks? Or a rough day so far?" Rachel could read her sister's voice so well—even with not talking to her regularly.
A rough laugh came from Kate. "You know me so well. I can't openly discuss the case we're working on—but I've a got a gut feeling that Gibbs is in danger."
"Sweetie, I'm sure it's nothing."
"God, Rachel, I want to believe that. Gibbs is playing it off as if it's nothing—but I don't believe so."
Rachel sighed, "Have you voiced these concerns to Gibbs?" Knowing Kate, she probably did. Her little sister never shied away from telling someone what she thought.
"Yeah, I did."
"Where is he now?"
Kate huffed, "Out. Probably getting coffee, no doubt. And not paying attention to his safety."
"I don't know what else to say to ease your mind."
"Wow! I think the world stop spinning. My older sister—the psychiatrist—is at loss for words." Kate laughed.
Rachel joined in with her own laughter. "When are you and Gibbs going to set a damn date for the wedding?" She changed the subject for Kate's benefit.
Silently, Kate thanked her older sister. "We're having trouble compromising on a date."
The older sister could tell that the younger one was frustrated—not just from her fiancée supposedly being in danger, but from said fiancée being stubborn on picking a damn wedding date. Rachel vaguely remembered Kate telling her that Gibbs had been divorced three times. Maybe Gibbs was frightened about marrying a fourth time—and it ending in divorce once more. "Have you thought about Gibbs maybe not compromising on a date is that he's scared that this marriage might not work, too?"
"And see, that's why you're the psychiatrist and I'm just a lowly Federal Agent," Kate said jokingly. She then sobered. "I really hadn't thought of that, but that might be a reason. I mean we've only been engaged for almost four months and lived together for almost two months—but dating for about a year and I just feel he's holding something back."
"Then maybe you sit down and talk to him about your fears. You should also ask him if he's not telling you something."
"That's easier said than done, Rach, but thanks."
"You're welcome, baby sister. I'll let you get back to work because knowing you; you're probably behind on paperwork or something. I love you, Katie."
Kate smiled into the phone at her sister using her nickname—that she always hated growing up but when Gibbs said in that husky voice of his—her heart melted. "Love you, too, Rachel. Talk to you later." Then she hung up and laid her cell phone on her desk and sighed in frustration.
The strong robust flavor rolled around on his tongue—waking up his senses. He wanted to take some time to relax, but he had gotten a cup of coffee for Kate—basically as a peace offering to her. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up and he glanced over at the outside tables at a man reading a newspaper—who then lowered it to reveal a bastard that Gibbs had wanted to kill a year ago—but wasn't allowed to.
"Hello, Gibbs."
He wished that he'd never heard that voice—that Israeli accent filled with British overtones. "Ari. Miss me that much?" Sarcasm dripped from his words. He sat down in one of the empty chairs.
"Ah, Gibbs, that's quite narcissistic of you. Everything is not about you."
Taking another a sip of his coffee, Gibbs eyed the Israeli. "If everything is not about me, then why are you here? What do you want?"
"What do I want? There are lot things that I want. How is Caitlin by the way?" He changed the subject.
Gibbs' hand tightened around his coffee cup at the mention of Kate's name coming from Ari's mouth. "That's none of your business."
"Have I hit a nerve, Gibbs?" Ari studied the NCIS Agent with attentiveness. There was something there—something between Caitlin and Gibbs. "Does Caitlin talk about me? Miss me, even? I'd wager she thinks about me, doesn't she?"
Resisting the urge to reach across the table and strangle Ari, Gibbs spoke harshly, "You stay away from her."
"Is that a threat?" Ari leaned back in the chair and clasped his hand over his stomach.
"No, that's not a threat. But, if you come anywhere near her—this time—I will kill you." He placed his elbows on the table and looked Ari straight in the eyes. "Now, that's a threat."
Ari flashed a charming smile—that usually worked on woman—but obviously had no effect on Gibbs. "Are you in love with Caitlin?" At Gibbs' facial reaction, Ari continued, "Ah, yes, you are."
Gibbs growled, "What the hell do you want?"
"I'm here to kill you."
"Gee, I should be flattered."
"Sarcasm doesn't become you, Gibbs." He smirked. "There is a device somewhere in this café and if you find it in time—you'll live—along with all the customers."
Gibbs gritted his teeth. Why the hell wasn't he allowed to kill him last year? Oh, that's right, he was being protecting by the fucking spooks! All because he was a double agent—trying to get inside Al-Qaeda to get Intel for all agencies. He and Kate's lives would be so much simpler. "What are you really doing here—in Washington—Ari?"
"Wouldn't you like to know, Gibbs?" Ari took a small sip of his tea before continuing, "I'm here in D.C. hoping to be let into an Al-Qaeda cell that's operating in the area. And they are the ones that want me to kill you as part of an incitation. You sure have a lot of people pissed off at you."
Taking another sip of coffee, Gibbs shrugged at Ari's comment. "It means that I'm doing my job. Making sure bastards like you are either dead or locked up."
Ari stood up from the table—obviously finished with their conversation. "Stay alert, Gibbs. I don't want to kill you—I rather enjoy our odd couple relationship."
"Where's the device?"
The terrorist stopped mid-motion in putting on his motorcycle helmet. "There isn't one. I lied." He smiled before putting on his helmet and then riding off.
Now, why don't I believe that asshole? Gibbs looked underneath his table—and long and behold there was bomb, with thirty seconds left. Sonofabitch! Gibbs detached it from the table and started running down the alley beside the café—quickly glancing at the timer to see how much time had—which was very little. Ten seconds to be exact. He saw a dumpster at the end of the alley. He threw it into the dumpster and dropped to the ground—covering his head as the blast rocked the dumpster and his body in the process.
Kate was going be so pissed when she found out about this.
He stalked into the bullpen in time to see Kate heading towards the back elevators. "Kate, wait," he shouted at her—making her stop mid-stride and turn to face him. He deposited his gun in his desk and then strolled to her. "Where were you heading?"
"Just heading down to chat with Abby for awhile until you returned."
"Okay." He grabbed her hand, wrapping it in his large one. "Can we talk?"
"Sure. Where do you want to go?"
"Break room okay?" He felt nervous—about telling her what happened earlier and maybe something more…
She nodded and together they walked to the break room—both hoping that no one else was in there. They entered and sat down at a table on the far side. "Jethro, what's all this about?"
She is definitely going to kill me. Or maybe just leave me—which would most likely hurt the most. "I saw Ari. He tried to kill me with a bomb."
She bit her tongue—almost to the point of biting it off—as she let what he just said sink in. She tried to sound nice, but it came sounding very sarcastic, "Well, it appears that he didn't succeed. This time."
"Kate…"
She cut him off, "Don't, Gibbs. Just don't. Don't try to justify you putting yourself in danger. Don't try to explain to me that we didn't know if Ziva's information was true."
He leaned back in the chair and tilted his head, looking at the ceiling. Her words cut him to the core—like an arrow to his heart.
"Have nothing more to say?"
His gaze whipped to hers. "What do you want to hear?" His fists pounded on the table, causing her to flinch slightly. "What do you want me to say?"
Never had she seen him this way. She had always experienced his temper from behind the glass during interrogations. She could actually say that right now—she was scared of Gibbs—and she'd never been scared of him. She'd always felt safe with him.
Seeing the fear flicker in her mocha eyes, he winced. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
She swallowed. "What happened?"
"He mentioned you." His voice was shaky. He spread out his hands on the table and took a deep breath.
Reaching out, she laid a hand on top of one of his and squeezed. Just a simple gesture. "I won't hesitate this time. If I see him."
"I should be the one to protect you. I should've protected you the last two times." He groaned in frustration. "I will die before I let him touch you again. I swear to God."
"Gibbs, don't say that, please."
"Kate…" he trailed off as he gritted his teeth. "He figured out that I'm in love with you." Bringing her hand to his lips, he lightly kissed the back of it. "I have something to tell you. Something that I haven't told any one before."
She moved her chair around the table until she was right beside him. "Does this have anything to do with you not liking any of the dates that I've been throwing out for the wedding? Or does it have anything to do with what Ari told you tonight?"
"Has to do with both of them actually."
"Are you going to tell me or do I have to guess?" She smiled at him.
He laughed nervously. "No, you don't have to guess. I'm a thrice divorcee and a widower." With his free hand, he ran it through his hair. "My first wife—Shannon—was killed in a car accident, along with an NCIS Agent and our daughter—Kelly. Shannon had witnessed a murder of a Marine from Camp Pendleton. The NCIS office put round the clock protection on her and Kelly—the murderer shot the agent driving the van that Shannon and Kelly were in. It crashed and they both died. The murderer then escaped across the border into Mexico to escape extradition."
At first, she said nothing. What could she say? Her fiancée just told her that he'd been married four times—not three—and the first wife was killed—along with his daughter. So, he'd also been a father.
"Kate?" It was just a simple question but held so much more.
"What happened?"
"I had been in a coma in Kuwait after getting injured severely—for nineteen days. When they told me—I saw red. They sent me home. And I went to find the man who killed my family. And I killed him," he whispered.
I know he was keeping something from me—but never imagined this. "Jethro?"
"I love you, Kate. I'm sorry that I'm being stubborn when it comes to the wedding—but I'm scared. I'm scared that this won't work out—that I'll hurt you and you'll hate me for the rest of your life."
"Gibbs, if you haven't driven me away after almost a year of dating—I think I'm here to stay even if there are times when you're a real pain in the ass. I love you."
"I'm also scared that Ari might hurt you. And I won't be able to do anything about it. I don't give a damn about him wanting to kill me. But I do give a damn about him getting to you—maybe hurting you to get to me."
"He won't get to me."
"You don't know that, Kate. Neither one of us does."
Before Kate could respond, Office David entered the break room. "Gibbs, your director sent me to find you and Agent Todd. He would like to see you both in MTAC."
Gibbs nodded in affirmation. "Thank you, Ziva. We'll be there shortly."
"Sir, you wanted to see us?" Gibbs said—referring to him and Kate—as they walked down the ramp in MTAC. It was then that his eyes landed on FBI Agent Tobias Fornell.
"You and Agent Todd will be placed in protective custody."
Kate spoke up, "For how long?"
"However long it takes to solve your case and to find Ari Haswari." Director Morrow didn't mince his words. He wasn't programmed any other way.
"Why both of us, sir? Gibbs is the one that Ari wants to kill."
"Because Agent Todd, you've had two previous encounters with Ari Haswari and neither one ended very well. I want you both protected from this man."
Gibbs directed his words to Fornell. "How long have you known that Ari's been here—in D.C.?"
"Two weeks."
"Two weeks!" Kate shouted at Fornell.
He held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, we didn't think he had another agenda—other than to get information on the Al-Qaeda cell that's operating in D.C."
Gibbs grunted, "Well, the other customers in the café—which he tried to blow up—might think otherwise, Tobias. He tried to kill me tonight. And on top of that—your Agency never informed Mossad of Ari's whereabouts. His handler, Officer Ziva David—has been out of touch with him for a fucking month. You only informed them of the chatter—on him wanting to kill me—two fucking days ago! Not of his whereabouts!"
"He was getting us information on Al-Qaeda, Jethro!"
"And that makes what he did tonight okay! God, Tobias, he's a fucking double agent. He's playing everyone!" Gibbs ran a furious hand through his hair.
Kate held herself back—itching to lay a comforting hand on his forearm. But they vowed to remain professional at work when they'd informed Morrow of the change in their personal relationship—the engagement. Instead, she crossed her arms over her breast. "Sir, who will be protecting us?" She changed the subject.
"Officer David volunteered and I accepted her offer—after having spoken with Deputy Director David of Mossad. Now, you both know that Ari's off limits—there's no way to connect him to the two dead Navy pilots. Work the case and find out why they were killed."
"Yes, sir." Both Kate and Gibbs answered.
She woke up—stretching like a well rested cat—before standing up behind her desk. Her eyes scanned around—Tony was still sleeping, leaning back in his desk chair with his feet propped on his desk—McGee was sleeping, sitting straight with his chin tucked against his chest. He'll have a stiff neck when he wakes. Then she settled her eyes on her fiancée and her stomach plummeted.
His head was thrown back and a precise cut went from one side of his throat to the other. Blood had dripped from the fatal wound—down his neck to the collar of his shirt.
"Gibbs," her voice cracked.
A hand touched her shoulder and she whipped her head to gaze at the person. That smile—the one that she saw in her dreams—the same dreams where she would stab him in Autopsy. She would never falter in her dreams.
"Miss me, Caitlin?"
Kate woke up with a start—the small blanket that she kept in her filing cabinet, slipping off her shoulders.
"You dream about Gibbs? Why? You're engaged to the man, Kate." Tony shook his head in disbelief.
"DiNozzo, there is something seriously wrong with you." Kate got her feet, ran a hand through her tousled hair and stole a glance at Gibbs' desk—which happened to be empty. Of course he was up. Sometimes she wondered if he ever slept more than three hours a night.
Since they'd moved in together—there were nights she'd woken up and the space beside her was empty. She would find him in the basement working on the boat. Kate wouldn't disturb him—would just go back to bed. He'd eventually return because she'd wake up in his arms.
Yesterday—after being told that they were under protective custody—Kate, Gibbs, Tony, and McGee brainstormed as to why the driver's hands were taken and what were his duties for the Navy. It turned out he was a pilot—TAD to a civilian contract company—doing what, they'd yet to find out. But it was a lead—they didn't have many with this case.
Kate knew, though, that Gibbs wanted to find a connection between the two Navy pilots and Ari. Wanted to have a reason to go after the double agent.
McGee came over to her desk and set down a large cup of coffee. "Thanks, Tim."
"Welcome, Kate."
She then headed for the women's locker room—to freshen up—before they headed to the civilian contractor. It was where she found Ziva—splashing water on her face.
"Good morning, Ziva."
Eyes close, she answered, "Morning, Agent Todd." She reached blindly for paper towels—trying to nip drip any more water than she had to on the countertop.
Kate grabbed a few for Ziva and placed them in her hand.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. You can call me Kate, Ziva." Kate leaned back against the countertop—right beside the Mossad Officer. "I'm sorry about yesterday. The way we got off on the wrong foot."
Ziva dried off her face, crumpled the paper towels in her hands and threw them away. "I'm sorry as well. I hate thinking that Ari could do these unspeakable things—having a hard time believing, too—so, it puts me at odds with each other."
"What's your relationship with him?" She held up her hands in a non-threatening manner when Ziva cast a glance at her. "I only ask because I sense something more than you just being his handler."
"Ari is my half brother. We share the same father." She balled her hands into fists. "We try to keep that information quiet along with our relationship with the Deputy Director—our father is the Deputy Director of Mossad."
Kate was beyond flabbergasted. "Has you father ever push you or Ari to complete a mission—no matter the consequences?"
"Many times. He also pushed Ari to live this particular life—straddling two very different cultures—because of him having Arab blood in him, he could get information that nobody else ever could." She looked at her reflection in the mirror—wondering who the woman was looking back at her.
How had Special Agent Caitlin Todd gotten her—Mossad Officer Ziva David—to talk about things that she'd never told anyone else. Not even her father.
Kate lightly touched Ziva's hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable by asking those questions."
"No, it's all right. I'm not used to talking to others. Especially women—about my feelings."
Kate smiled. "Are you sure you're not related to Gibbs?"
That brought a small smile to Ziva's lips.
"You're beautiful when you smile. I'm going to freshen up and then you can brief Gibbs and me on how you want to handle our visit to Danborne Avionics today."
Ziva nodded before exiting the locker room.
Six Hours Later
Ari had turned.
Ziva hadn't wanted to believe it. Still didn't—at least a small part of her didn't. But she had verification from the security camera footage from Danborne Avionics—during the robbery. They had stolen a UAV Drone—one that could be packed with a small payload of explosives and when loaded down, only had a range of forty miles—at best. Gibbs confirmed her I.D. of the man absently rubbing his shoulder during the robbery.
Ari hadn't been looking for the D.C. Al-Qaeda cell for the FBI. Nor had he been trying to infiltrate it—like he had told Gibbs. He was running the damn thing.
Ziva hated that her father and the FBI Director were right—about Ari going rogue. Her half brother was the enemy now. God, what had her father created when he recruited Ari all those years ago for Mossad?"
Now here she was—wedged in between Kate and McGee in the backseat of the Dodge Stratus—as Gibbs pushed the speed limit down Interstate 64 towards the Norfolk-Hampton Roads-Newport News area.
Gibbs had called Ari earlier—with the number provided by Agent Fornell—and had him traced to an area thirty miles outside of Norfolk—in Newport News—in the warehouse district. She wasn't along for the ride—and the firefight she knows will ensue—no, she was here to protect Gibbs and Kate from her half brother.
A man she doesn't know anymore.
She happened to glance at the road sign as they zoomed past it: Norfolk 30 miles. The speed that Gibbs was driving at—they would be at their destination in twenty minutes.
Tony broke the silence. "Hey, Kate, what's the date today?"
Kate answered, "May twenty-fourth. Why?"
"Paula Cassidy's ship arrives today from the Gulf. Seven ships in all—the whole Amphibious Group with be at Norfolk."
"And?" McGee asked while working on the transmitter—for jamming the drone's frequencies—that Abby fabricated.
"The pier will be packed with Navy families welcoming home their loved ones, McGee." Kate answered softly, while glancing at the window at the boring scenery.
Ziva wanted to say something, but what? She felt somewhat responsible. She was Ari's handler. She should've done something when she hadn't heard from him in two weeks.
As reading her mind, Gibbs spoke to her, "It's not your fault, Ziva." Their eyes meat in the rearview mirror.
Gibbs pulled up between two warehouses and exited the car—with the others following. Kate went to the trunk, withdrew the shotgun and all the available shells—then went to stand beside Gibbs as he and Tony observed their surroundings.
"It's going to take forever to search all these warehouses."
"Kate, give me the shotgun." Gibbs cocked it and shot out a light on a pole. A man leaned over the side of the roof on their immediate left—welding an automatic weapon—and Gibbs shot him. "Let's go. Kate, you're with me. Tony, take the fire escape." He handed the shotgun back to Kate.
"What about me?" Ziva spoke. "I'm here to protect you and Kate."
"Go with Tony." Then he turned to McGee. "Start jamming that damn drone." He motioned for Kate to follow him as Tony and Ziva started up the fire escape.
When he and Kate reached the door to the loading dock—he nodded to her to open it, slowly. With his gun drawn, he entered—sweeping the interior with Kate bringing up the rear. They got as far as the stolen police cruiser when automatic gunfire rang out—making them take cover behind the cruiser. She cocked the shotgun, waited for the right moment—popped up and fired off three shots before taking cover. Beside her, Gibbs did the same. Against the automatic weapon—their weapons were no match. They just had to hold him off or pepper him enough to make him move back.
Which so happened. The terrorist fled further into the warehouse. Kate shook the window glass off as she and Gibbs advanced forward.
Meanwhile Ziva and Tony made their way across the roof—slowly as to draw attention. She was slightly out in front—one or two steps—and she placed a hand on his chest to halt him. When she saw him about to protest, a finger went to her lips—silently telling him to be quiet.
Slowly and methodically, she reached down—tugged up her pant leg—and withdrew a small knife she kept strapped there. With expert precision—she threw the knife at the terrorist that walked into their path. Tony heard the thump and followed Ziva to the dead body.
"What kind of woman are you?" Tony exclaimed.
"Not the soft, cuddly type." She pulled the knife out of the dead body.
"No, really." He deadpanned.
She quietly laughed at him before continuing on their way. As they moved towards the main part of the roof, they heard McGee's voice over the comm mikes, "Boss, they launched the drone."
Gibbs' voice followed, "Then jam it, McGee."
As Ziva and Tony came up behind the terrorist controlling the drone—Gibbs and Kate burst through the roof entrance door. Gibbs empty four rounds into the terrorist. "McGee, this thing is still flying!" He shouted over the mike when he made it to the transmitter.
"I'm working on it, Boss. Two frequencies down—three more to go."
They all heard gunfire over the mikes.
"McGee, talk to me."
"I got someone shooting at me. I don't know how many." He glanced over at the transmitter. "They shot my transmitter, Boss."
Tony looked over at Gibbs. "Know how to fly one of these?"
"No, but I know how to crash it." He emptied four rounds into the transmitter.
"Gibbs, I'm out." Kate gestured with her shotgun.
"So am I." Tony stated. Gibbs handed the younger agent his last magazine.
"McGee, are you okay?"
"Yeah, Boss. I don't see anyone."
"Okay, we're coming to you. Sit tight." Gibbs motioned for them to follow him to the roof top entrance.
Before he could stop her, Kate leapt in front of him, shouting, "Shooter!" as she was shot at point blank range. She landed hard on the roof. He, Tony, and Ziva fired at the shooter before going over to Kate. Gibbs knelt beside her, unzipped her jacket and breathed a huge sigh of relief when he saw that her vest stopped the bullet.
He then gathered her into his arms and heard her grunt in his ear. "What were you thinking? Don't ever scare me like that again! Damn your Secret Service training!"
"I don't think Kate's having sex tonight." Tony smiled over at Ziva—who surprisingly returned it.
DiNozzo! You're a fucking pig!" Her voice was muffled by Gibbs' jacket.
"Let's get you home." He picked her up in his arms and they proceeded down into the warehouse. "McGee, still okay?"
"From what I can tell." He became quiet for a beat. "How's Kate?" His voice cracked slightly.
"She got the wind knocked out of her—otherwise she's fine." Gibbs followed Ziva through the warehouse—sandwiched between both Ziva and Tony because he was carrying Kate and also if there might be any stray terrorists hanging around. "We're almost to you."
"Gotcha, boss."
Five minutes later, they walked out of the warehouse and slowly made their way over to the car.
Then a shot rang out.
Gibbs felt his legs buckle beneath him and he lost his grip on Kate—who fell to the hard pavement with a hard thump—and he fell to the pavement. He faintly heard Kate's cries—calling his name and yelling at Ziva while the Mossad Officer got her out of harm's way. He felt Tony's arms around his middle—dragging him to cover behind the car.
A roaring thunder sounded in his ears. He struggled to keep his eyes open. He heard gunfire—but couldn't pinpoint who was doing the shooting. Shouting filled his ears—from Tony, Ziva, Kate and McGee—and then far away sirens—before everything went black.
Twenty Four Hours Later
His head pounded. His throat was dry. And when he opened his eyes—he groaned loudly in pain—which in turn made Kate lift her head from its resting place—on the bed—beside him. He squinted from the blinding sunlight filtering through the window and watched Kate run a hand through her tousled hair and then yawn before focusing her attention onto him.
"How are you feeling?" His voice was hoarse.
"That's what I should be asking you." A small smile graced her face. "I'm a little stiff but otherwise I'm all right. The vest did its work."
"And for that, I'm eternally grateful." He tried to situate himself and a blinding pain shot through his right knee. "Fuck!" he hissed.
Kate was right there—helping him sit up more and put a pillow behind him. "Ari shot you in your right knee—breaking the kneecap as it passed through. The doctors were able to repair it with cadaver bone, metal plate and lots of screws."
He grunted, "Why does my fucking head hurt? It feels like there's a jackhammer going off in there?"
"After you were shot—you dropped me—and you fell face first into the pavement—cracking your head. The doctor says you have a minor concussion and it'll hurt for a few days."
With a long drawn out sigh, he laid his head back against the pillows. "And Ari?" He hoped the bastard got what he deserved.
"Ziva's escorting his body back to Tel Aviv."
"His body?"
Kate nodded. "After you came out of surgery—Ziva persuaded me to go home and change clothes, check on Toni and take her over to the neighbor's house—since I didn't know when I'd be back. Ari surprised me in the kitchen—he'd broken into the house from the back door. I hadn't let Ziva clear the whole house before entering—was in such a hurry to get back to you."
Gibbs squeezed his eyes shut—hating that he wasn't around for a third time.
"He was so focused on me—hadn't noticed Ziva peeking around the doorway to assess the situation. He told me that he wanted to kill me just to hurt you—so that you would go through life, knowing you couldn't save another woman that you loved. I saw Ziva's reflection in the kitchen window and a split second before she fired—I dropped to the floor and she fired one shot into Ari's head."
Gibbs swallowed. "He didn't…" he couldn't finish.
"No, he didn't hurt me. Ziva made sure of that."
"And her?"
No sugar coating. "She took it hard—having to shoot her half brother." At Gibbs' raised eyebrows, she quickly continued, "She and Ari shared the same father—Deputy Director David of Mossad. He used an alias when he met Ari's mother in the Gaza Strip and then later recruited Ari for Mossad—due to him having Arab blood in him and David needed a man inside Hamas."
"So he turned his own into a monster?"
"It would seem that way. Ziva said that the man she shot wasn't her brother. She had no idea what her father created." Kate stroked her thumb back and forth over the back of his hand.
He whispered, "It's finally over?"
She nodded. In a way—she felt bad for Ari—being used the way he'd been by his father. But the feelings stopped there. She felt more sympathy for Ziva—a woman torn. Between family and loyalty to her country.
"When can you break me out of here?"
She laughed at him. "Not for a while. And then after that—eight to twelve weeks off of work and then physical therapy."
He groaned, "Don't remind me."
"You should be discharged by the end of the week. No working on your boat for the foreseen future." Kissing the back of his hand, Kate held back a smile.
He noticed the smile in her words. "Don't sound too happy about that."
"Me? I don't know what you're talking about."
He tunneled his fingers into her auburn tresses and brought her mouth to his. "I've missed these lips," he murmured before gently kissing her, his tongue tracing over her bottom lip. "Hmm, who needs painkillers? You're the best medicine." He felt her smile against his lips.
To Be Continued...