A very big thank you for all those who have favourited, followed or reviewed the last chapter. It is much appreciated and I hope you enjoy this latest instalment. Again a slight warning that characters may be OOC.

It was as though the world had simply stopped. For a long moment all Ziva heard was the deafening thudding of her heartbeat as she stared at the man, who looked at her with an expression of acute surprise on his face as though he couldn't quite believe what was happening before he crumpled to the ground dead, his eyes still wide open yet unseeing the world around him as Ziva watched in stunned relief. After whispering a slight kaddish, her eyes were drawn in the direction the shot came from and she looked up to the overlooking balcony where Ari stood, watching her with undisguised brotherly concern. The siblings made eye contact and Ziva cast a reassuring smile in his direction, causing him to smile roguishly back at his little sister.

Ari knew all too well that Ziva had become accustomed to dealing with death in her life, but he still worried about the effects it had on her. After all, he had spent many a night thinking of all those he had slain and seeing their agonized expressions in their final moments. It was sobering enough for a man like him but for someone like Ziva it could one day prove to be too much. She had after all, already suffered so much and each new death, each new near-miss brought her closer and closer to the precipice of insanity-from which, having almost been there himself- he knew there to be no return from.

Seeing her brother's troubled expression, Ziva was about to question the reasons when she heard the sound of quickly-approaching footsteps. Quickly she gestured warningly and Ari nodded, instantly disappearing back into the shadows. Once certain her brother was safely away, Ziva bent down and retrieved her gun from the dead man's hands just in time for her team mates to enter the room, alert and with guns raised.

'ZIVA?' Gibbs questioned, his eyes instantly drawing to the body lying on the ground in front of him.

'It is alright Gibbs. I killed him, self defence.' Her voice was surprisingly calm as she used all of her willpower to lie to Gibbs. For a moment he stared at her appraisingly, but she maintained her gaze, ensuring that her secret remained utterly guarded.

Breaking his heated appraisal, she asked the all important question, 'Have we got Ramzi or the Lieutenant?'

'No. They escaped.' McGee answered, the frustration evident in his tone as he too was getting increasingly annoyed by Lieutenant Cherington's ability to constantly evade their grasp.

It was Gibbs who noticed the disappointment on the woman's face as he led his team out of the factory and past their fellow law-enforcement officers who were busy detaining the remaining terrorists. As they headed to the cars, Gibbs spoke softly, ensuring that only Ziva could hear. 'We'll get them Ziver.'

Ziva nodded in response; they would get them, but the moment could not come sooner.

Having finished interviewing yet another detained terrorist, Gibbs marched down to autopsy, hoping that Ducky had discovered something of use in the absence of their detained terrorists giving any valuable information.

On seeing him enter through the sliding doors, Ducky smiled. 'Ah Jethro, I wondered when you'd be down.'

'You finished the autopsy on the terrorist Ziva took down?' He gestured to the nearest table, where the freshly autopsied body lay.

Ducky glanced to his friend; confusion clearly present on his features. Gibbs feeling his gut clench turned to Palmer, shooting him a glare which caused the assistant to hasten a retreat. Gibbs waited until the young man had left before speaking again.

'What is it Duck?'

'Are you sure that this is the terrorist Ziva shot? There are other bodies I am waiting to process from the factory.' He gestured towards the bodies lying on the adjacent tables.

'Positive. What is it?' Gibbs's voice was low, knowing that something must be wrong to have caused such a reaction from his old friend.

'The bullet I pulled from this man's body doesn't match the ammunition from Ziva's gun.'

Gibbs furrowed his brow as he contemplated Ducky's words, realising that the young woman was lying to her family. But why and for what purpose? Who was she protecting?

Ducky watched as Gibbs processed the information before once again speaking, 'Jethro...'

'I know Duck. Let's keep it between ourselves for the time being.'

Ducky nodded as he watched his friend exit autopsy and deeply troubled himself, he turned to the next body, picking up a scalpel in the mean time as he prepared to make the first incision into the flesh.

On the fleeting moments Ziva had a moment to herself in between interviewing the detained terrorists, liaising with the other federal agencies and searching for leads on Ramzi or Cherington, she noticed Gibbs watching her. She could not help but shake the feeling that he was suspicious about the statement she had given pertaining to the demise of the man in autopsy. She did not like lying to the man she considered a father but Ari was her own flesh and blood and she would never betray him. Gibbs would almost certainly try to kill him. Years after Agent Todd's death, the pain was still present and Ziva knew her friends would eagerly seize the chance to have revenge on her supposed murderer. She understood that completely, having devoted her life for revenge for Tali; but she would not allow them to have it. Not when it was her beloved brother's life on the line. And so she had to protect him, no matter what it cost her.

Gibbs was not the only one watching Ziva. Tony and Tim, although not privy to the deception discovered in autopsy, also suspected that she was hiding something. They could not put their finger on it but something did not match with her story; some minor detail just did not click. She had been acting strangely for far too long and yet after the factory, they could see even Gibbs was suspicious. So the two kept watch out of both curiosity and concern.

The team continued working through the night and yet nothing of importance was discovered. Yet despite this, Ziva updated Ari at any opportunity she was alone, knowing that he would also be hunting down any leads on the whereabouts of Cherington or Ramzi.

With each passing hour Gibbs became more and more frustrated. He wanted a result; not just because of Cherington's betrayal of the navy but for Ziva. He wanted to help her get revenge for her sister. Ever since she had first started as an agent on his team, Gibbs had just known that she had lost someone. It was a look in her eye; a look he recognised from having himself and over the years-no more so than when Ziva herself had been lost- he had wondered just who the person had been to have caused such grief from a woman as strong as Ziva. And now that he knew, everything about Ziva...what drove her, what made her so determined in her work, made sense. They all had their reasons...DiNozzo, McGee...even Ducky and Abby for doing this job but no reason was as tragic as the loss of a loved one. It was five am when finally he felt his ever mounting frustration getting too much out of hand and he made his much-needed escape from the Navy Yard and headed to visit an old friend for some advice.

Gibbs inhaled the early morning air as he opened the old, squeaking gate and let himself into the cemetery. He walked slowly past row upon row of headstones which pointed upwards from the immaculately kept grass. Each grave was different- a last memorial to the individuals buried beneath them, who otherwise were forgotten from the world with the exception of the memories of those who had loved them. He gave these graves only the glance over as he had little time and none of them belonged to the person he was here to pay tribute to.

Finally he reached his destination. Gibbs stopped in front of the small black, marble grave with its golden lettering of 'In loving Memory', glowing in the eerie light of dawn. The grave was bare of flowers in comparison to the surrounding graves, and he admonished his own stupidity for not thinking about bringing anything for the grave. He himself had often thought that the bare graves were the saddest as it suggested that nobody had visited the deceased and he hated the thought that people would think the same of the woman who lay beneath him. Nobody who had known her would ever forget her; least of all him.

He inhaled deeply before finally he spoke quietly, 'Hello Jen.'

Gibbs paused, unsure whether to continue but remembering the beautiful, fiery woman who lay below he continued. 'I know it's been a while since I visited but the cases have piled up. Things are still tough with Ziva's recovery; she and DiNozzo had a fight- you know what DiNozzo's mouth is like. Vance is back from leave and he's slowly recovering but he's still not right. You know the place isn't the same without you. It never will be.'

He stopped again, pushing back painful memories which were threatening to make an appearance. 'Tim and Abby are seeing each other; hiding it from me of course but I'm proud that they are together and happy.' He paused again, choked at the regrets he felt for not telling Jen just how he had felt; his stubbornness losing him the second woman he had truly ever loved.

'I'm worried about Ziver. She's hiding something. Yesterday she lied about killing a terrorist when someone else pulled the trigger. She's protecting someone but whom and why I don't know.' He became silent as he stood deep in thought next to his lover's grave. He was not aware of how much time had passed as he continued to stand there, drawing comfort from his memories, until he noticed that the sun had risen, and glancing at his watch, he realised it was time he returned to the Navy Yard. He glanced once more at the grave and spoke softly, 'I miss you Jen.' And then he walked away.

Tony stood up as Gibbs walked into the bullpen. 'Boss, just got a call from local LEOS. Alexis Cherington was murdered earlier this morning. They found her body after responding to reports of gunfire made by one of her neighbours.'

Gibbs nodded his acknowledgement of Tony's words and glanced to the others, who grabbed their bags without any words from him and followed him swiftly to the elevator as they headed to the crime scene.

Ducky leant over the young woman's body, pity evident in his eyes. 'Such a shame my dear, that you had to be caught up in your brother's treachery.'

McGee knelt down next to Ducky, snapping pictures of the woman who lay sprawled on the floor, a bullet hole through her head.

'I'd say it appears to be execution style.' Tim glanced up to Gibbs.

'I'd agree with Timorthy, Jethro. Judging by the manner of her death, it would appear she was targeted as revenge for the Lieutenant.' He glanced up once more and spoke with his trembling Scottish brogue, 'Get the bastards, Jethro.'

Gibbs nodded in response.

The investigation was slow as despite her best efforts Abby had no leads on either DNA or fingerprints and as the gun was unregistered, tracking its owner was virtually impossible. Ziva looked down at the sound of her cell chirping with a message from Ari, telling her that there seemed to be no leads on current locations of Ramzi or indeed Al-Kharif. She sighed out loud; this case was beginning to get to her, not just because of who she was dealing with but for the fact that they had very little to go on. As she glanced back up, her eyes connected with Tony who looked at her worriedly. Feeling the heat rise in her cheeks, she glowered in response. Seeing her response, Tony realised that it would take a long time for her to ever forgive him, and for him to forgive himself.

The intense silence of the bullpen was interrupted by Gibbs's phone. 'Gibbs. Uhuh. Put him on.' He motioned his team over, pressing the loudspeaker button on the handset.

'Special Agent Gibbs, I presume.' A cold voice spoke.

'Lieutenant Cherington, we've been looking for you.' Gibbs replied equally as cold, glancing at McGee who without being told, started to trace the location of the call.

'I know about my sister. I saw you take her body out of her house! It's your fault she's dead! You should have offered her protection!' He yelled into the phone.

Gibbs remained calm. 'It was your actions which got her killed. You've betrayed your country. Hand yourself in and we'll talk.'

'She was killed because the Scorpions thought it was me who told you about the warehouse- but it was the Mossad agents and your investigation which discovered us!'

The team's eyes widened at their fugitive's revelation, and the three men briefly glanced to Ziva, studying her for any knowledge of Mossad involvement, but her face remained impassive.

'Hand yourself in Lieutenant and we'll make a deal.' Gibbs reiterated.

'Oh I don't think so.' The man laughed harshly. 'I know exactly what you'll do to me and I'm not allowing that; not until I get revenge for Alexis!'

'Why did you betray your country sailor?' Gibbs demanded angrily.

'Why do you think? The money. It's not as though Johnston and I made a decent wage in the navy.'

'And what about Johnston? Why'd you kill him?'

Cherington snorted dismissively, 'He developed a conscience. He was going to go to the authorities and the stupid man became a liability. I will have revenge for Alexis. Mark my words. This is only the beginning.' And with those words, the phone went dead.

Gibbs turned immediately to McGee. 'Got anything McGee?'

'I've tracked his location to a small airstrip near Norfolk.'

'Alright, gear up!' And within moments the MCRT was sitting in the SUV as Gibbs raced to the airstrip in his usual erratic manner.

Gibbs locked eyes with the Israeli sitting in the rear of the car next to McGee who kept track of the directions to the airstrip. 'Ziver, is Mossad investigating Cherington?'

'Not that my contacts are aware.' She spoke simply, her eyes guarded. Gibbs stared at her for a moment, deciding whether or not to push her, before finally deciding against it. Tony glanced behind to Ziva, just as suspicious as Gibbs, but the Israeli's face remained emotionless.

They arrived at the airstrip to find it deserted apart from a few small commercial planes lying outside the hanger. Gibbs turned to his agents, 'McGee, DiNozzo check the surrounding area outside the hanger, Ziva with me.' They silently ran into the hanger, guns raised, anticipating any sort of attack but none came and within minutes they had searched the hanger to find it all clear. They turned towards Tony and Tim as they entered the hanger. 'No sign of anything boss.' McGee confirmed.

Ziva felt a wave of anger wash over her. This was the best chance she had had in years to bring down the Scorpions and yet they were getting nowhere.

'I do not believe this!' Finally the dam holding back her anger and frustration exploded and she kicked a nearby crate, furiously. 'How could we lose them?'

The three men eyed her warily as she muttered in Hebrew under her breath. Although they had never seen her react so strongly there came no reprimand as they too were frustrated and as Tony and Gibbs knew, and McGee suspected, for Ziva this case was personal.

The remainder of the afternoon the team exhausted every possible avenue of investigation but found no leads. After her earlier outburst Ziva showed very little emotion as she seemed to have become resigned to the situation yet on the inside she was still seething with outrage. Tim wore a frown on his face as he stared at his monitor searching for any lead on Mossad as he had been discreetly asked to by Gibbs. Abby and Ducky had both visited the team, offering assistance in the fruitless endeavours. Gibbs continued to drink coffee as though it was a dying breed, knowing it was the only way to curtail his annoyance in order to not lash out at his team. Tony could do nothing but fidget as his frustration peaked. He wanted to solve this case so badly. He was determined to catch Ramzi for Ziva knowing that maybe then would he finally be able to atone for his sins.

Ziva was startled out of her thoughts as her cell rang, flashing with an unknown number. She quickly answered, careful to mask her relief on hearing Ari's voice.

'Ziva, my contacts have informed me of a development.'

'Mah Nishmah?' The fact she was speaking Hebrew drew the attention of the men who glanced up watching her facial expression which remained guarded.

'It is too sensitive to talk over the phone. Meet me at the old drop bench next to the Potomac.'

'L'hitraot.' Ziva hung up the phone and stood up, grabbing her coat before leaving the bullpen silently.

The men exchanged bewildered looks and Gibbs immediately turned to Tony. 'Follow her.' The agent nodded and he too grabbed his coat and followed Ziva out into the night.

'McGee find out what you can about Mossad presence in DC. Call me if you find anything. I'll be up in MTAC with the Director.'

'Yes boss.'

Before he climbed the stairs, Gibbs glanced back to the elevator as he worried about Ziva. He was no fool when it came to knowing about his two agent's feelings. After all he had been in the very same position and just for that reason he knew it would be Tony who would unravel the secrets Ziva hid.

Tony kept his car a discreet distance from Ziva's as they raced through the city streets. Luckily it was past rush hour so Tony was able to keep up with Ziva's erratic driving. He was truly fed up of the secrets she kept. He wanted the truth, no matter how much pain it caused him. If Ziva indeed was dating the man he had seen her with, then so be it, as long as she was happy he could endure the pain.

'What are you hiding Zeev?' He whispered to himself.

Unnoticed by neither Tony nor Ziva another car followed the Israeli. Luke Cherington gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white as he followed the mini. He had vowed revenge on NCIS for his sister's death and he would have it. Long gone was the patriotic sailor, now all that remained was a calculating traitor- a shell of the man he had once been- looking for vengeance. And he had chosen his target.

It was the Scorpions who had told him just who the female NCIS agent was. Not only was she ex-Mossad but she was the Director's daughter and thus the perfect target for revenge against a Mossad-NCIS investigation and perfect revenge for his sister. He watched as the mini slowed then parked, before the woman got out of the car, locked it and purposely strode away. He allowed himself a smile as he recognised the man who seemed to also be following her from the photo he had been shown of the NCIS team.

Even better, a witness. He thought to himself coldly as he gripped the rifle sitting on the passenger seat and exited the vehicle.

The man inhaled the almost overpowering scent of cigarette smoke, his ruthless black eyes observing his men as they rushed around him carrying materials for their isolated desert camp and weapons for their jihad. Satisfied his men were doing his bidding his eyes wandered back down to the grainy photo lying on the table in front of him. Although it had been years since he had last set eyes upon the woman, there was no mistaking her face despite it being bloodied and bruised. It was obvious the photo had been taken without her knowledge during one of her many brutal interrogations. The man flipped the picture over to reveal another more recent one, sent by his second-in-command. Here, the woman was armed, working a case alongside her 'American family'.

His second-in-command had informed him that the traitorous American was bent on killing the Israeli. This however did not bother him as he knew the American would fail. In comparison to the woman, he was weak but it allowed him the chance to clear up loose ends as after all it was certain the woman would kill the sailor. If anybody was going to kill the Israeli, it would be him. He had been waiting for this moment for years and finally it was time. The pieces of the game had been set and it was quickly approaching the time that Al-Kharif would kill Ziva.

Tony kept his distance as he followed Ziva through the dimly lit park. He dashed behind a tree as Ziva came to an abrupt stop. He could see that she was calling to someone but due to the distance was unable to hear.

Ziva looked around and then hissed, 'Ari? Ari where are you?'

'I am here achoti.'

She turned towards his voice and smiled at her brother. Tony craned his neck to glimpse at the person she was meeting but they were concealed in the shadows.

'What did your contacts say?'

'Ramzi has fled America.' Ari felt his heart clench at the pained expression on her face. 'But we have managed to pinpoint a possible location for the Scorpions' camp. They are in Egypt.'

'Egypt? Just as where we thought they were hiding. This is the best lead we have had in years.' Ziva's eyes shone in excitement at the prospect.

'I know Ziva. We are close yes?'

Tony managed to make out that Ziva's face had softened at whatever had been said to her but before he could watch anymore he felt his cell vibrate. Recognising Gibbs's number, he answered softly.

'DiNozzo, McGee found something. There is a Mossad cell working in DC tracking the Scorpions. How's Ziva?'

'She's meeting someone boss. I think it's a man but I can't see him.' He whispered.

'Keep me informed.'

'Will do.' He hung up and turned back to the scene in front.

'Ziva we need to be careful. Al-Kharif will know we are coming after him, he knows everything.'

'We must not give up. This is for Tali and for your mother and my mother; for all those we have lost.'

Ari nodded as he felt emotion bubble up at the mention of his mother.

'We will have revenge Ari.'

Ziva vowed and Ari stepped out of the shadows to embrace his sister, whispering to her, 'I know.'

Tony felt jealousy erupt at the embrace. Obviously Ziva and this man were close, closer than he had dreaded. He felt his heart break as he realised that there was someone else in her life and therefore he could never be part of it in the way he most wanted to be. His mind froze as suddenly the man stepped back, this time into the light cast by the street light. Although it was dark, he instantly recognised the face.

Impossible. That was the only thought that was coherent in his mind. The face belonged to a monster he had long thought vanquished. He felt a rage build within him he had never felt before. That bastard. He grabbed his gun and stepped out of his hiding place, his hatred building with every step forward as finally he knew Ziva's secret. Ari Haswari was alive.

So the secret is revealed...

Translations are as follows:

Mah Nishmah- What's up?

L'hitraot- See you soon