Another night had passed, although this one hadn't been as restful as the one preceding it. Tony had lain awake deep into the night and noticed that Ziva was sleeping the way she had on the plane, ready to wake and fight at any moment. When dawn finally broke across the black sky Tony was still in a half conscious state of dozing for a few minutes before waking when his eyes became just a little too heavy.
Neither agent tried to pretend sleep would come. It had alluded them both, and they accepted it. Ziva rose at five in the morning and went to shower, since it was obvious that Tony was very much awake. He gave up on lying in bed, as comfortable as it was, and went to make breakfast. In true early rising fashion, he started with coffee and worked from there.
When Ziva entered the kitchen, she was greeted with the smell of fresh pancakes and french toast. "It smells amazing in here.", she admonished appreciatively. "I didn't know you could cook something other than cereal and coffee.", she added in awe of the delicious smell wafting around her.
Tony laughed at the way she spoke. "Don't sound so surprised. Do you want pancakes or french toast or both?", he asked after pushing the last slice of french toast onto one of the two large plates on the counter. He moved them to the table and set a bottle of maple syrup between the plates.
"Why did you make both pancakes and french toast?", she wondered while stabbing a piece of french toast with her fork. She added a second to her plate and drizzled the syrup over them generously.
After pouring them each a cup of coffee, Tony joined her at the table and stabbed himself two pancakes and a slice of french toast. "Well I had already started making pancakes when I realized, hey, I'm in France, so I should be eating the local cuisine."
"You do know that french toast is not actually French, right? The earliest it can be traced to is fourth century Rome.", Ziva explained but didn't complain about getting french toast for breakfast. She was very much enjoying this side of Tony and admitted to herself that she wouldn't mind seeing it more often if it came with a breakfast menu.
"Whatever, smarty pants. Just eat the cinammony goodness.", Tony ordered playfully. They continued eating and drinking coffee with random bits of light conversation mixed in. After eating Ziva said she would wash the dishes while Tony showered, since he had cooked.
Tony stood under the hot water of the shower and couldn't shake the feelings that had stirred at the thought that he and Ziva were acting very domestic. They were sharing a home and bed. He had technically taken her on a date and cooked her breakfast. He had lied about why he added the extra breakfast option. It was really because he remembered Ziva once telling him how much she liked french toast, and he couldn't resist. It was unsettling that they were acting so...married, more so than they had when they were actually supposed to be married.
Ziva's thoughts weren't far behind Tony's. She had been wondering when they became so comfortable around each other. The night before they had dropped the act of falling asleep before becoming wrapped in the other's arms, and Tony had simply pulled Ziva to him when she crawled into bed. She wasn't sure if this was progression for their relationship type thing or if it would just be added to the list of topics they never spoke of.
After the dishes and Tony were washed and dried, he and Ziva prepared for the day ahead of them. The entire day was to be spent planning for the next day when they would take Chaviv. Ziva opened her laptop (that Abby had also rigged to be off grid) and opened a video chat with the laptop McGee had brought to Gibbs' house. Tony and Ziva sat at the table and watched Abby's face open on the screen. "Ziva, Tony! I'm so glad to see you!", she exclaimed excitedly.
McGee was quickly by her side and smiled when he saw Tony and Ziva looking back at him. "Hey, how are things going there?", he asked seriously but with a pleasant tone for Abby's sake.
"We're good, Mcinterruptus. Ziva hasn't even tried to kill me yet.", Tony said in a fake excited voice. For his troubles he received an elbow to his rib from Ziva, but it wasn't as hard as she had in the past. He grunted softly but made no mention of it to his colleagues.
"Yet.", Ziva emphasized threateningly but with a small smile. "What can you tell us, McGee?", she continued.
"Well Abby and I can say for sure that there are never more than seven people in the store where Agassi's been meeting after five in the afternoon. The store closes, and that's when Agassi, Chaviv, and whoever goes with them enter the store."
"We also found out that Mr. Laurence Laroque and Mr. Nicolas Bellamont, two of Aggasi's aliases, are scheduled to be on a flight to Mexico tomorrow night at eleven- thirty, but we're not sure how many others he may have.", Abby interrupted when she could tell that McGee was about to start explaining how he had found his information.
"We wouldn't be able to legally touch him once he's in Mexico.", Tony voiced. So the plan was set whether they were ready or not. "Where's Gibbs?", Tony asked.
At that moment McGee and Abby scooted out of the way, and Gibbs entered the picture. "Here, DiNozzo.", he announced to the computer's web cam.
"Hey, boss. So we're definitely going in tomorrow sometime after five. Is that all you can tell us?" Ziva didn't seem worried or surprised that they would be going in without any information on exactly how many people would be in the store or what kind of weapons they would have. "And how does McGee know for sure that there won't be more than seven?"
"He hacked into a satellite and used the heat sensors to watch the video of the store from the last two weeks." Just after Gibbs answered Tony's question, McGee could be heard in the background reminding them that it was very illegal and never to be spoken of again.
"Where is Hadara?", Ziva asked as casually as possible. She had been missing the girl terribly and wanted to talk to her again before they went in to get Chaviv. She wasn't sure that they would survive and wanted to at least say good bye...if not in so many specific words.
"She's at school.", Gibbs said. He knew that no mission was ever a guaranteed success, and the definition of success could spread over many borders. "Be careful, and get out clean. This will not come back to bite us in the ass. Got it?"
"Got it.", Tony and Ziva answered firmly at the same time. It was obvious that the only way to get out clean was to kill everyone in the store when they were there. Ziva and Tony had accepted this. They had killed before, and this would not be the last time. Neither liked it, but there was no other option.
The day was spent going over the plan. There were two entrances to the store, so they would have to split up. Tony wasn't fond of this plan but knew there was no way around it without chancing that someone might escape. "How are we going to know where Chaviv is though? Everyone's gonna start shooting as soon as we bust in there, so how do you propose we ensure Chaviv's safety?", Tony asked.
"Instead of 'busting in' as you say, we could sneak in while they are holding their meeting. We put silencers on the guns and shoot fast.", Ziva offered up for an answer.
Tony rolled his eyes at her predictable answer. "I thought of that already, Zee-vah. We can't just hope for luck. Why don't we go with a distraction instead? I can do something out front, and you take Chaviv out the back. That way we don't waste ammo or time."
Ziva sighed. "There is no way we can leave without killing people. Agassi will follow Chaviv, and his men will follow him. We must make them follow him to the grave instead.", she argued back. "Let's compromise. You can be the distraction, and I will go in and take out whoever stays behind with Chaviv. You will handle whoever goes outside."
Tony didn't like how any of these plans were ending in his mind. "And what if you end up with five guys and I only have two? There has to be a better way to make sure they all go one way." He knew Ziva could take care of herself, but that didn't mean he wanted her to take her chances against five armed men.
"Perhaps we should not wait until they are all in the store. Once they are inside, they have the advantage of the defensible post. They also have the advantage of not being worried about Chaviv being hurt or killed." Ziva was trying to broaden their options of where they could take Chaviv from.
"You want to tail them and wait for a good time to come up?", Tony asked. His tone blatantly said that was a worse idea than any of the others so far. They would have no way of knowing if a good time would come up, and they only had one night.
"No, we could stop them when they are on their way to the airport. As far as Agassi is concerned, no one knows that he is in the country at all, so his defenses will be down. We could block his way and go from there.", Ziva suggested.
"What if he decides to use Chaviv as a hostage?"
Ziva considered a way around this question for some time, and Tony waited patiently for her to think. "We should assume that all five body guards will be with him.", she said to herself. "And we can't do it at the airport; too many people. Maybe we get him when they are leaving the store? When they are going to their car."
That plan was workable. "Okay, possible. We could wait until Chaviv is in our sights. We'll have to be on either side of the store, and we could slash their tires to make sure no one can run with him." Tony could see the plan forming in Ziva's head.
She was working out all of the possible strategies and outcomes in her head. "Yes, and one of us will go out and make our presence known. When they are focused on that person, the other can get Chaviv if possible. If not then whoever is in hiding will have to back the other."
Tony was nodding along with the plan. "The store's on a bad street, so no one will say anything if they get some shots off, but we could stay in hiding. They will be more distracted by gunfire than a person." So they had their plan. They would wait, kill, and run; simple as that. Tony looked at his watch and couldn't believe that it was already midnight. "Guess we should call it a day.", Tony said and stood from his place at the table to stretch.
Ziva also stood an nodded. When they had retired to the bed room, Ziva began changing right away. She stripped off her shirt and jeans while Tony tried to make himself look away. He was screaming at himself in his head that he should not be ogling his partner like that. Gibbs' voice was telling him that there was no way he should be having the kinds of thoughts he was having about his partner.
Ziva felt Tony's eyes boring into her and loved the lust she felt radiating off of him in waves. For good measure she bent over to pick up her shirt, and Tony's eyes bugged out. If he had been a cartoon character, his eyes would have been rolling around on the floor by then. He swallowed and was finally able to look away after Ziva slipped the shirt over her head. It fell to around mid thigh, so she decided to forgo pants.
Tony freed himself of his pants and shirt and decided to just wear the boxers he had on without a shirt. He turned to see Ziva lying in bed with the covers already on and crawled in himself. Ziva switched off the lamp and the room darkened. They laid in the bed separately for a few minutes before Tony decided that he wouldn't act intimidated now just because Ziva had teased him.
He rolled onto his sides and pulled her to him like he had the night before. This time however he had to stifle a groan when soft bare legs rubbed against him. He hadn't known that Ziva was only wearing the shirt and panties until then. Not backing down from the challenge, he held his grip on her.
Ziva was within an inch of rolling over and shredding the last articles of clothing separating her from Tony's naked body. They were so close, and she could feel all of him pressing against her. Her thoughts had taken a turn for the naughty, and she was using all of her self control to stay where she was.
Ziva's scent was driving Tony crazy, and he could feel himself reacting to the way her body fit perfectly against his. He wasn't the only one who had noticed his problem. Ziva couldn't help but push the boundaries. She moved her lower half back into his groin and heard his sharp intake of breath. "Ziva.", Tony breathed out. Her name sounded like a plea and warning at the same time on his lips.
She turned so that she was lying on her back and gazed into his lusty, green eyes. Her own jade eyes had been filled with her own brand of liquid lust. They stared each other down, each daring the other to make the first move. Tony had propped himself up on his elbow when Ziva turned to him, so he was partially hovering over her. He leaned in minutely, and Ziva's lips parted slightly of their own accord. Her eyes urged him on, so Tony finally did what he had been dying to do for years.
His lips feathered over hers, but he still hadn't kissed her. He had gone more than halfway, and all she needed to do was take a single step. Ziva met him in the last millimeter, and their lips melded together perfectly. The kiss started soft but heated and intensified. Ziva licked Tony's bottom lip and was granted immediate access to his mouth. Their tongues dueled for dominance, and Tony had an arm on either side of Ziva's body so that he was above her. Her kiss was more intoxicating than any amount of alcohol he had ever consumed, and his was more addicting than any drug could ever be in her system.
Their hands wandered over the other's body, and they finally explored the uncharted waters they had been avoiding. Tony pushed Ziva's shirt up past her thighs and had almost exposed her breasts when she stopped him. She finally forced herself to break the kiss and pushed Tony back. It wasn't a rough push, just enough to ask him to stop.
Tony, of course, stopped right away. He looked down at her with worried eyes. Her unkempt hair and kiss swollen lips were the sexiest thing Tony had ever seen, and it took all of his will power to stop himself from ripping her clothes off right then. "I want to do this, but we can not afford distractions before tomorrow.", Ziva said regretfully.
Tony nodded in understanding and moved from his place above her. He was more worried about after tomorrow. They had a way of pushing emotional or meaningful moments under the rug if those moments weren't addressed quickly, so he couldn't help but wonder if she was waiting for time to sweep their moment away.
Ziva knew what Tony was thinking, and she had considered it. "This is not done. We will talk amongst other things when the mission is complete.", she assured him. To prove her words true, Ziva moved closer to Tony and laid her head on his chest. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, and they drifted into a dreamless but restful sleep.