Author's Notes: Gah, computer probs. Anyway thanks to: cyn32, swfap88, NCISislikecupcakes, bluestriker666, shella-belle, mia58 (Eva isn't responsible for this kidnapping and no she did not tell her boss she and Spencer/Eva followed them to Israel), evincis (thanks), GinnyPotterthe7th (Eva and Spencer were hired for their jobs so yeah, there are more people that hate Ziva) and just another tomboy.
Also huge thanks to areethashinozzo (lol. And the man at the carnival called the man that ordered this kidnapping, just so y'all know...but that's all I'm saying before you read the chapter. There is a connection between Eva and Spencer which you're about to find more clues to and by next chapter you will know how they know each other. And Nathan's not the only one in danger now), immirose (In terms of Ari and the kidnapping I wouldn't say he has a "connection" as per se, but he does have some form of link. Eli knows more than he is letting on, yes. The man that the guy from the carnival called has everything to do with the entire kidnapping plot of the fic. Thanks) and a special thanks to new reviewer: sbteja (True, Eva and Spencer are not responsible for what happened at the end of last chapter but I must say they're not too far behind in the events like NCIS is. Yes the carnival man is linked directly to this event. True, Eva and Spencer are the "watch and wait" kinda, they didn't do this. Thanks).
Chapter thirty-six: Gunpoint
It was certainly not a good position to be in as a parent and as an NCIS Agent/Mossad Officer. Ziva was tied to a chair almost two or three meters from where Tony was also tied to a chair. The ropes were professionally bound and the floor was too clean of any objects as they were trapped inside an abandoned building. Nathan was nearby where a man was holding him so tight his arm was hurting but he could not get away as a gun was pointed to both of his parent's heads. It was like a triangle, with Tony and Ziva at two points and Nathan caught in the middle; the center of attention.
Nathan stood there captivated by fear as Ziva was furious and yelling while Tony was desperately trying to find a way around the situation. But no one could keep their thoughts up long for while they had been like that for almost an hour and with no reply from their captors...that was about to change.
A door near the back opened and a man dressed in blue but light-toned clothing approached. He had dark hair and a small beard, but while his appearance did not offer much description as to who he was or his motives...his eyes said it all. Dark, cold and hungry...three things that were not good in enemy eyes. He approached near Nathan, standing on the boy's left side as he tapped a gun against his palm softly and stared at Ziva and then Tony.
'I give you my greetings, Ziva and Agent DiNozzo' he spoke in a calm voice but it was lined with danger and authority, making the other men stand up straighter and Ziva's glare was set to deadly. 'Of course I know all about you but you know nothing about me' the man shrugged and proceeded to introduce himself. 'I am Winston Jeffries...the man second-in-charge to the kidnapping of this young man' he brushed a hand through Nathan's hair that made the boy flinch and move away instinctly.
'Why do you want my son?!' Ziva screamed angrily, fighting her restraints even more.
'Nathan is a vessel of getting to the truth...of accomplishing so much' Winston told her calmly but did not explain. 'We were raising him to be a terrorist' he elaborated slightly but Ziva and Tony still felt as though the two statements were unlinked.
'I will never be one!' Nathan declared bravely. He was madder now that he realized why they took him to the places they set up bombs...why they made him watch their crimes as training for what he was supposed to do, and it made him sick. Nathan never wanted to hurt people the way those monsters did. 'Never' he added again.
Winston frowned at the boy and glared slightly before hitting him across the face so hard Nathan yelped out and his hand rose to his cheek. His eyes welled up from pain but his fear was back and he said nothing more.
Ziva's blood boiled over at the sight and sound of that man inflicting harm upon her son. She knew he'd been hurt and put through hell but to actually see and hear it with her own eyes yet be useless to stop it...there was only wonder as to what she'd have been capable of if she had her hands been untied. But now Tony was losing it as well, seeing the boy so vunerable and hurt while another man stood beside him as the cause of it...he wanted to wrap his hands around Winston and break his neck. Not something he was capable of doing right now but as he glanced at Ziva he knew that if either of them were to break free...all hell would break loose.
The following day; the day in which Gibbs found out from Abby that Tony, Ziva and Nathan's flight landed the previous day but yet there were no phone calls or visits from them. Gibbs sat at his desk a little after eight in the morning and wondered where the three were, but he soon came to a conclusion as a gut feeling told him strongly that something was very wrong.
'McGee!' Gibbs barked and made the younger agent jump. 'Run a trace on Tony and Ziva's cars, cell phones and anything else!' he said, reaching for his desk phone to try the group at home again.
'On it boss!' McGee said right away but a sense of dread was filling him as well...Gibbs was worried, so something was obviously not going to come back as good news.
--
Tony and Ziva had slept in their restraining chairs all night, but with guns pointed at them from all directions they knew a bullet would be what they would get for even moving their feet to keep the blood flowing. Nathan had been taken from the room and chained to a bed for sleep until he was rudely woken the next morning and their captors picked up exactly where they had left off the previous day, but it wasn't just a casual talk this time.
Winston was now the one holding Nathan in a death grip but the boy was determinded to squirm until he almost broke free and his arm was yanked, making his face almost hit Winston's as he stared at him.
'I will break your arm if you try to get away' Winston snarled and squeezed Nathan's arm briefly as an indication that he could not be more serious about his threat. He moved back and watched two of his men interrogate Ziva and then Tony, but Nathan continued to squirm slightly.
A sound jerked Nathan to his senses and while his squirming was almost non-existant, his attention was set strong on his parents. The men interrogating them were not just demanding unanswered questions but using other methods; when Ziva told them nothing she would be slapped hard across the face whereas if Tony gave a movie reference or sarcastic joke in avoidance to answering...he would recieve a punch to the face.
Nathan gulped and was quickly getting upset to seeing both Tony and Ziva in so much pain simply because they were not cowards and refused to give answers for their own sake.
'P-please' he pleaded to Winston. 'Don't hurt them!' he asked but Winston didn't even blink as he continued to watch the scene. Nathan turned back and tears welled up in his eyes as Ziva got another slap. 'M-mommy!' he sobbed, trying to pull his arm free again moments before Tony got another punch. 'D-daddy!' Nathan gulped and shut his eyes to try and erase the images. Tony had his left side to Nathan and Ziva her right, so he couldn't see their faces too well but Ziva was receiving the most slaps and Tony had blood on his face.
'We're okay, Nathan' Tony's voice made the boy reopen his eyes, even if he thought Tony didn't sound overly okay.
'We love you, do not worry' Ziva added, she too turned to glance at the boy.
'Ow' Tony mumbled as he got another punch, wondering if he was going to lose a tooth. 'Yeah, we love you kiddo and we'll get out of this!'
'Do not let them scare you' Ziva added and gritted her teeth as another slap came.
Nathan bit his lip and nodded but Winston smirked and looked down at the boy, lowering his tone so only they could hear.
'They are your family?' Winston asked. 'Is that why they will save you? Ah Nathan, tsk tsk tsk' he stook his head. 'Ziva killed your uncle Ari I believe...still think family matters most to her? And if you're waiting for Tony or Gibbs to save you...well they couldn't save Kate' he told him.
Nathan frowned but then paled slightly, only struggling momentarily. He refused to believe that his mother had killed his uncle, but then again she never told him who had. 'Who...' he didn't want to fall into a trap or seem on his side but he had to know. 'Who is Kate?'
'They never told you? I didn't expect they would want you to know the truth. You are a child and they only tell you the good things, tricking you into believing the world is a wonderful place' Winston said. 'Your mother worked at NCIS because there was room...because a previous female agent that used to protect the President of the United States, had been killed. Kate...NCIS Special Agent Caitlin Todd was her name. She was on the roof of a building with Gibbs and Tony when she was killed...they couldn't save her then just like they can't save you now'.
Nathan stopped struggling altogether now and was stunned to the new information he had received...not just because of how shocking it seemed and how horrible it made him feel but also because he somehow had an even worst feeling that Winston wasn't lying.
'Got a hit on the BOLO of Tony's car!' McGee suddenly announced, bringing Gibbs from his thoughts and attempts to locate his missing agents and their child. 'I tracked his GPS signal to an abandoned building outside of Fairfax' McGee added and hande the address over to his boss and then grabbed his things while Gibbs called for immidiate backup.
The pair then grabbed their things at warp speed and ran out of the squad room, praying they weren't going to be too late for either of their teammates or for the child that was now family to them all.
--
'Urgh' Eva grunted as she pulled back slightly from watching the scene going on through her sniper rifle but Spike remained fixated through his, watching as Ziva and Tony copped more blows. 'I hate that we can't help them' Eva confessed.
'Say that again' Spencer asked in surprise. 'And why? We're good shots'.
'We're not on either side' Eva growled. 'I hate Ziva. I hate that bastard Winston that hired us, using a child to get to...oh' she frowned as that's what she had done as well. 'But I am not going to torture the boy, not break is damn arm although I have wanted to a dozen times'.
'Eva, calm down' Spencer advised. 'If you ever consider taking a shot at anyone or even the wall...you need to be focused'.
'What are you? My Commanding Officer?' Eva snarled at him but leaned back to look through her scope. 'You know I hate watching these kind of things and not do something'.
'I know' Spencer sighed but moved his hand so it was placed over hers for a brief moment. 'But it'll be over soon...either way'.
--
'Enough games' Winston spoke up loudly and shoved Nathan towards another man. 'I have a call to make...if they do not talk, shoot them in a joint for every unaswered question. If you run out of joints...go for the skull' he turned and left.
'NO!!' Nathan screamed and fell to his knees, but his new captor let him crouch there while still not releasing his grip on him.
But the moment Winston had left and Nathan had a moment to feel hatred towards the bad guys...he lost it.
'Let me go!!' Nathan screamed and stomped so hard on the man's foot that he released his grip on the boy's arms.
'Stupid kid!' the man yelled in pain. He hit Nathan hard and shoved him to the ground where he stayed, too stunned and hurt by the blows to get up again.
Ziva snarled as she witnessed that and freed herself from the chair just as Tony stood up and used his chair to knock a man out. She ran towards her son after punching out the man but Ziva paid for her move as she copped a blow to the stomach from another man while Tony tried to free himself from the chair that he was still mostly tied to.
Nathan reopened his eyes as he thought he'd felt his mother's warmth. He got up painfully and saw his mother doubled over nearby and Tony removing the last of the chair from himself but the chair was chained to the ground. For a moment he thought he heard tyres screech in the distance but gulped as the man in front of him was raising something as if to hit him with it.
'No' Ziva whispered as she saw the man responsible for her stomach pain raise an object up to hurt her son and she reacted without a single thought or acknowledgment. Tony finally freed himself from the chair and approached as Ziva started running, ignoring the pain that shot through her body.
The man raised his weapon but as it came down towards Nathan, Ziva took the blow all whilst shoving Nathan into Tony and seconds later gunfire went off. Gibbs, Jenny, McGee and several FBI agents swarmed into the building, taking men into custody but Winston had long vanished.
Eva sat alone on the rooftop of a building out of sight from the arrivals in the abandoned building and Spike gathered his things to leave. But Eva remained as she watched the scene until Spike came back and tried to pull her away.
'Come on, we've gotta get out of here now, Eva!' Spencer said and she nodded, grabbed her things as well and followed after him, feeling confused as she'd shot two of the men dead but inflicted no harm on the other side...perhaps she was on a side after all, but she still hated Ziva. Although, how could she hate someone that had just sacrificed herself for her son just as Eva had tried for her daughter?
'Ziva!' Tony rushed to her side as Gibbs grabbed hold of a sobbing, distraught Nathan. Tony saw Ziva lying on her side, blood leaking from her head and some other unknown place. He reached out to her and tried to hold her but was afraid of causing more damage. He felt his world shattering and all his carefully guarded emotions crumbling as he sniffed and tears fell. He couldn't tell if she was even alive, if she was even breathing...but she was certainly unmoving.
'We need a bus!' Jenny was yelling but it was all just noise to Tony as he pleaded with all his might for Ziva to move...to give some indication that he hadn't lost her. 'Call an ambulance!!'
Author's Notes: Another cliffhanger, I know! Sorry. But the more reviews I get the sooner I update and next chapter will not only deal with all this that has happened but also answer some of your questions and such. Plus there's some Tony/Nathan stuff I'm sure y'all love. Please review.
-Mel