[Silver War 2]
...
Tony's POV:
The next morning the team was gathered around the big screen, a picture of the deceased marine on it. This morning I was too tired to care about how I looked so I opted for a casual sweatshirt and jeans. But in my defense, I did bring breakfast so my duty is done.
"A marine dressed as a civil war soldier shot by a musket. And then buried alive in a 140-year-old antique iron casket." Ziva began musing as she stared at the screen. Behind her the three of us nodded along distractedly as we stuffed our faces with the burritos we had just acquired curtesy of me. These things were so freaking good. I grinned widely at Claire with puffed cheeks when I noticed her staring at me in amusement. With a chuckle, she took a napkin and wiped off a bit of sauce that had apparently fallen onto my chin. I couldn't stop myself from smiling down at her fondly when she had to step closer towards me. Even in these simple moments I couldn't help but get lost in her bright blue eyes. As if she could feel my stare, she glanced up at me questioningly but I hastily shifted my eyes away. Way to be subtle DiNozzo, now you're going to creep her out.
"And you're telling me this isn't your strangest case?" Ziva asked, turning to look at us questioningly. We all had just taken another large bite of breakfast so we just nodded with full mouths. I took a few more chews before answering.
"Yup." I confirmed briefly before getting back to my food.
"Pretty much." McGee told her in a muffled voice as he continued chewing.
"I don't know what I find me disturbing…..You're eating habits or the fact that I believe you." Ziva told them as she watched us chow down on the food ravenously.
"Eating habits, hands down." Claire offered. McGee and I shot her unamused stares.
"I'm sorry do our…strange American foods frighten you?" I joked, mimicking a news announcer before snickering at my own joke. Maybe if she couldn't handle our 'American ways' then she could find a new team. McGee joined in while Ziva laughed sarcastically. That threw me off a little but I wasn't about to let her know she was getting to me.
"Not at all, I was referring to your manners." Ziva corrected as she took a step closer. I didn't like where this was going. Out of the corner of my eye I could barely see Claire stiffening as Ziva approached my personal space. I paused and glanced at her warily when she was right up on me. She really doesn't have any concept of personal boundaries.
"You should have bought me one." Ziva told me teasingly. Was she flirting or just teasing me? Before I could whip out some sarcastic comment Ziva grabbed my hands that held the burrito and took a bite out of it. She. Did. Not….My smile immediately dropped into a deep frown as I stared at my now tainted food. McGiggles however found it amusing. Ziva nodded and quietly moaned as she indicated that it was delicious, just making me even more irritated. I heard McGee cough in amusement and looked over at me with a grin. I smiled sarcastically at him before settling on a venomous glare. He was not to encourage this.
"I'm gonna go see Abby." He dismissed himself once he realized I was not happy with him. Claire glanced between me and Ziva and frowned before turning to go sit at her desk. I looked down at the food again forlornly. Yes, I was bothered by Ziva touching my food, but now Claire was obviously upset. Wasn't I making it obvious that I didn't enjoy Ziva's forwardness with me? I hope she doesn't think that she makes me all flustered because I like her. It was actually quite the opposite. If I didn't get a handle on this, Ziva is going to ruin my chances with her. I was abruptly brought out of my thoughts when Ziva grabbed my hands again. I watched her in disgruntlement as she tried to take another bite but this time I yanked it away from her. She needed to lay off all this touchy feely, teasing, assassin, seductress vibe that she kept pushing onto me. It was getting annoying. I glared at the food once more before shoving it into her hands, suddenly not hungry anymore.
...
3rd Person POV:
"She seems to be fitting in very well." Jenny Shepherd remarked as she and Gibbs watched the interaction from the stairs above the bullpen. Gibbs stared at her in surprise. Had they just watched the same thing happen?
"She almost killed my entire team yesterday." Gibbs told her dryly.
"How so?" Jenny asked warily.
"Driving home from a crime scene." Gibbs explained, recounting the story that his agents had told him after they returned from the terrifying ordeal. They wanted to make sure that Gibbs never did that to them again. The job was dangerous enough. Jenny smiled and nodded in understanding.
"I should have warned you. I think she was an Eastern European cab driver in a past life." She joked, trying to get Gibbs to lighten up on the situation.
"Well she wasn't a cop." Gibbs quipped, not taking the bait. They watched as Ziva perched herself on the edge of Tony's desk, even though it was obvious he didn't want her there. He bristled as she reached across him to take some of his soda too. Gibb's eyes drifted over to Claire who was watching the interaction with narrowed eyes. It was blatantly obvious that Claire had a strong dislike with Ziva just as a person, and her constant badgering of Tony only added fuel to the fire. Gibbs had picked up on the subtle change between his two agents. Tony and Claire started this job as friends but as it progressed he could see the lingering glances and the blushing at comments that would have meant nothing a few months ago. It was amusing to watch in all honestly. He knew that they were aware of his rules and trusted that they would be very considerate of them. Yet at the same time, from a parental standpoint, he was interested to see where exactly these mounting feelings would take them.
"She doesn't have any investigative or law enforcement experience Jen." Gibbs told her in complaint. He still wasn't sold on the idea of keeping Ziva. Especially if she was going to be causing trouble within his family.
"Neither did it when I first started with you." Jenny pointed out. Gibbs straightened up.
"Yea well you were always a fast learner." He pointed out, his lips barely quirking up into a thoughtful smile. The two shared a knowing glance as they each thought back on memories that would remain in the past.
...
"You sure you don't want it back Tony?" Ziva gestured to her new breakfast as she stared at him from her spot on his desk.
"Most men don't usually have a problem with my germs." She added coyly. Tony's eyes twitched in annoyance as he turned back to his computer. Maybe at one point he would have eagerly played into her charms but now he only had his sights set on one woman. Yet he knew that it would take a lot of work to curb his playboy habits if he had any chance of getting Claire's attention. He printed something off and glared at Ziva before walking away and towards the printer on the other side of the room.
"I got a lead on how our Staff Sergeant ended up in a union soldier uniform." Tony informed Claire as he plucked the paper out of the tray. She looked up at him, indicating for him to continue.
"He was a member of a local CW…" Tony stopped abruptly as he nearly ran into Ziva who was standing very close to him now. She stared up at him innocently despite the glares of annoyance from the two partners.
"…CWR out of Fairfax." He finished before maneuvering his way around her.
"CWR?" Ziva asked with interest, yanking the paper out of his hands. Tony paused and stood there waiting to get the paper back.
"Yea, Civil War Reenactor's. Guys get together dressing in period costumes, reenacting famous battles." Claire explained.
"Why?" Ziva asked them with a frown.
"I've been asking my father that since I was 10 years old." Tony told her stiffly, the bad memories flashing through his mind. Claire bit her lip as she smiled, knowing exactly what Tony was thinking about. He caught it and frowned at her silently communicating that 'it wasn't funny, it was traumatizing'. She merely rose a brow innocently. Their silent conversation way broken when Ziva spoke up once more.
"According to this, they're preparing for one of those battles this week in Manassas." She told them while scanning the paper. Tony tried to snatch the paper but she held onto to it tightly so she merely glanced at him.
"Quiet the coincidence." She mused. This time Tony managed to take it out of her hands and smiled at her tightly.
"And in the immortal words of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, 'I don't believe in coincidences.'" Tony told her, attempting to sound like Gibbs but sounding more like Humphrey Bogart.
"Is that a fact DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as he walked into the area.
"Hey boss. Uh I was just telling Ziva about this lead that I…" he winced as his head was struck from behind as Gibbs passed.
"Yea I heard." Gibbs muttered. Ziva bit her lip in an attempt to keep in her laugh at seeing Tony's reaction.
"Come on Abby's found something let's roll." Gibbs instructed before heading off in that direction.
"It's an American custom. Like a form of affection." Tony stuttered to Ziva, trying to pass off the head slap.
"Really now?" Ziva mused, obviously not buying it.
"Yea." Claire chimed in teasingly and reached over to smack Tony herself. He winced and smiled at Claire sarcastically, trying to keep up his façade. Ziva chuckled.
"Seemed like Shwofta Stooges to me." Ziva quipped, and the other two frowned in confusion.
"Like what?" he asked, looking at her dumbly. Ziva smiled and started imitating the eye poke thing that the 3 stooges were known for.
"Larry, Mo, Curly…yes?" she continued as she began to saunter away. Claire rolled her eyes before following Ziva, muttering under her breath. Tony dutifully followed behind the two.
...
Down in the lab McGee was staring at the casket on the evidence table when Gibbs, Claire, Tony, and Ziva entered. Immediately their brows furrowed as they walked into some sad jazz music instead of the usual techno rock. Gibbs walked over to Abby's office where a woman in a purple suit with dark black hair stood with her back to the agents. Gibbs frowned in confusion.
"Abbs?" he asked questioningly.
"I look like a freak." Abby pouted, struggling to turn around in her new office heels. As she faced them, their eyes widened in shock at her new outfit. This was very wrong. She was wearing a drab purple work suit, a white blouse and her face was free of makeup with her hair pushed back in a headband. It was very un-Abby like.
"Well?" she asked, with a sad frown. Tony gasped out a 'whoa' and the agents slowly walked closer.
"See I don't think she really looks that bad." McGee told them seriously.
"Is she making a reference to that strange tattoo on her neck?" Ziva asked as she pressed against Tony's shoulder. Tony frowned and swatted her away from him.
"Why?" Gibbs asked as they stared at her in shock. Abby picked up a paper from her desk and wobbled her way over to them.
"One of the director's new ADMIN weenies brought me this last night." Abby explained as she handed the paper to Gibbs.
"It's the NCIS dress code. They said I was in violation" she added while teetering unsteadily on her feet.
"He did, did he?" Gibbs murmured as he read over the paper.
"It's bad enough that I have to wear a monkey suit for court appearances, but every day?" Abby asked in exasperation. Ziva walked over to her.
"I think you look nice, Abby." She told her with a friendly smile. Abby frowned and stared at the woman like she had just killed her pet.
"Nice?...you think I look nice?!" she asked irritably. Ziva looked back at the others in confusion. Had she said something wrong?
"How could you say that?!" Claire snapped at Ziva, causing the others to become even more confused.
"She looks horrible!" Claire gestured wildly to the lab technician in front of them. Tony and McGee stared at her in shock. Why would she say something like that out loud? Sure, they were all thinking it but wasn't it like an unspoken rule not to tell women that. Abby gasped and pulled her hands over her heart.
"Thank you. You're a true friend Claire." Abby whispered thankfully, shocking the younger agents even more. What? Claire nodded and walked over to hug Abby in comfort.
"I get it. This is so not you Abby." Claire assured.
"I look like….like…" Abby trailed off as she got flustered but Tony filled in the blanks for her.
"Career girl Barbie." Tony finished in realization before whipping his head to look at McGee. He looked back at him as he realized that too. Abby lifted her head to stare at them with distress while Claire glared at them pointedly. Could they make things any worse? Idiots.
"Oh my god…I do." She whispered in despair and touched her suit softly as the realization sunk in. Abby whimpered in disgust and tried to rush back into her office but it was hard with the heels.
"I can't work like this Gibbs." She told him.
"I'll take care of it Abbs." Gibbs assured her. She walked into her office and grabbed Bart her farting hippo in comfort as she rambled, obviously in distress.
"I'm allergic to polyester it makes me itch. It's a medical condition, I can get a note from the doctor…." She started spewing off but Gibbs rushed in to comfort her.
"Abbs…..Abbs I said I'll take care of it." He told her once she had calmed down. Abby smiled at him thankfully before hugging her hippo close. *FART* Ziva scrunched her nose in confusion and turned to the others as she heard the noise.
"Don't ask." Tony told her, already knowing the question. Sometimes it was better not trying to explain Abby to outsiders.
"Can we get back to work now?" Gibbs asked as he held onto Abby's shoulders. She pursed her lips in thought.
"Do I have to wear the shoes?" she asked. Gibbs frowned and roughly balled up the paper in front of her before throwing it away pointedly. Abby smiled in response.
...
Claire's POV:
"The circuit board in the cellphone was damaged, but we managed to get it working again." Abby explained from behind her computers. Once she was rid of her shoes, the techno music came back on and she was working contentedly behind her computer desk barefooted. She hadn't had time to change out of her atrocious 'work attire' but at least now she could walk properly.
"The battery shut down on October 3, 2004."
"Before that 22 calls were made to 911." McGee explained as they put up the list of phone calls up on the big screen for the rest of the team to see.
"None of them went through." Abby added.
"He was calling from inside the casket." Tony muttered in understanding.
"Yup, cask iron and buried underground." McGee added as explanation as to why they didn't go through.
"I don't think anyone's calling plan extends that far tony." I quipped. Tony glanced over at me with a playful glare before turning back to the screen. I grinned to myself, secretly pleased that he found me funny. Gosh now I sound like some cliché teenager pining over her first crush.
"What is this last entry here?" Gibbs asked, looking over the long line of dialed numbers at the end of the list.
"Um he was running out of oxygen boss, I assume he just trying to dial another number at random." McGee answered with a shrug.
"Find out." Gibbs instructed before making his way back to the casket, the rest of us following behind dutifully.
"What did you pull from the tomb, Abs" he asked glancing down at the evidence in front of him.
"Um there were traces of staff sergeant Sorrow's blood inside the cover." Abby started, as she turned to look over the casket too.
"Most likely from when he tried to claw his way out." Ziva imputed.
"Since his fingers were shredded that must have been really hard to figure out…Agent David." Abby muttered sarcastically, and purposefully mispronounced her last name. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep my face straight. I may have unintentionally added fuel to her hate fire towards Ziva when I vented about how she was all over Tony when he clearly didn't want the attention. Not that I was jealous or anything, I'm just not happy that some people didn't respect personal boundaries. Ziva stared at the wall in front of her, biting her lip in annoyance at Abby's purposeful dig.
"It's pronounce Da-Veed. And you can just call me Ziva." she corrected with a strained smile. Abby didn't answer but turned back to the task at hand.
"I also found two very distinct types of dirt on the outside. The first is red clay, which is very common in Virginia. And the other had a high concentration of fertilizer." Abby explained, gesturing to the dirt marks on the outside of the casket.
"Tony, when is your meeting with the construction company that found this?" Gibbs asked.
"0900" Tony answered, watching his boss expectantly.
"Claire, take Ziva with you and see if there's anything left at that crime scene." Gibbs ordered. The tow of us instantly shot a wary look at one another.
"Gibbs don't you think…" I began to protest but quickly shut up by the steely gaze of Gibbs. He was trying to force us to get along and I couldn't get out of it. I sighed and nodded compliantly before walking out of autopsy to get ready. Ziva watched Gibbs and Abby for a moment longer before trailing after me, her gaze lingering on Abby questioningly.
...
"Tell me you have a shower here." Ziva muttered tiredly as she stood next to me in the elevator. Ziva was covered with dirt from head to toe while I was leaning on the wall smug and squeaky clean. I was seriously considering requesting Ziva to tag along with me more often, I quite enjoyed it. Ziva not so much but she couldn't protest as she was still a Jr. Agent.
"We do, but only for biological and chemical emergencies." I explained as we walked out of the elevator.
"Wonderful." Ziva growled.
"Well you were the one who said you were sick of observing." I countered with an impish grin. She wanted to be helpful so I let her. Ziva sneered at me. Apparently, we didn't agree.
"You made me crawl through a dump truck full of dirt." She growled in protest.
"Well there could have been valuable evidence in there." I pointed out dismissively.
"There wasn't!" she spat back at me.
"Well yea. Thanks to you we now know that." I mockingly praised, just egging this on. Tony looked up as the two of us strolled into the bullpen and he choked back a laugh at Ziva's appearance.
"How'd it go?" Gibbs asked, staring at the two of us in amusement. I made my way over to his desk, Ziva and Tony following.
"Nothing boss. The building site was clean." I explained but glanced over at Ziva and grinned.
"Figuratively speaking." I added with a snicker. Tony ducked his head and chuckled at the pun.
"Very." Ziva muttered in agreement.
"We taped off the area but were not going to find anything." I elaborated, getting back to the seriousness of why we went there. Gibbs glanced over Ziva's dirty form before glancing up at me knowingly. However, before he could comment, McGee and Abby came rushing into the bullpen.
"Gibbs we did it!" Abby chirped as she reached his desk.
"Did what Abs?"
"Those random numbers weren't random after all boss." McGee explained, getting Gibb's attention.
"Staff sergeant Sorrow, was leaving us a text message….from the grave." Abby told us, grinning in mock evilness at the end. Gibbs leaned forwards and looked at her expectantly.
"When you put the numbers into the cellphones text converter you get this." Abby showed us, clicking on the mouse to initiate the converter, which slowly revealed what the message was.
"Only got half oxbow, not on his side. Kerns let him get safety deposit box." McGee read off the screen. Tony squinted at the screen in confusion.
"That's it?" he asked skeptically.
"He was buried alive Tony….what did you expect a soliloquy" Ziva snapped at him sarcastically. Tony slowly turned his head to glare at the snarky woman before looking at me knowingly.
"This is all your fault." He whispered accusingly. I jerked back in offense at first but realized he wasn't serious. I shrugged my shoulders indifferently. It probably was my fault that she was in such a foul mood, but quite frankly I could care less.
"We ran his socials through the banking system. Staff sergeant Sorrow has a safety deposit box paid for 5 years at the North Virginia Savings and Trust." Abby told us.
"McGee, get me a…."
"Warrant, already called one in boss." McGee finished for him.
"DiNozzo, oxbow and kerns?" Gibbs ordered.
"On it boss." Tony nodded before heading to his desk.
"Get me into that safety deposit box and take Ziva with you." Gibbs told McGee, who dashed off to grab the car keys. I guess he's just pushing her onto each of us to see if she could fit in anywhere. Obviously, Tony and I weren't working out that well. We worked better together anyway and I know McGee is too nice to be childish like we have.
"Is there somewhere I can clean up?" Ziva asked in exasperation, looking to Gibbs and gesturing to her dirt smudged face.
"Yea sure…..tonight when you go home" Gibbs told her before walking off. Abby sweetly smiled at the agent, and Ziva sent her an equally strained smile back before walking after McGee.
...
3rd Person POV:
In town McGee and Ziva were walking down the sidewalk headed towards the bank where the safety deposit box. Ziva had dusted off her filthy clothes and was wiping her face down with a towelette as they walked through the square out front.
"You know let me help you with that" McGee offered, reaching for the wipe but Ziva jerked back in offense.
"I'm not a child." She spat at him and continued wiping down the sides of her neck to get the dirt off. McGee sighed.
"I'm just trying to help." He told her. Ziva stared at him for a moment before reluctantly handing him the wipe.
"You may get what I missed." She agreed, thankful for the genuine kindness instead of the cold shoulders she's been getting all day.
"Thank you" McGee muttered before glancing at her face and wiping off the bits of dirt left behind. Ziva sighed as he worked and glanced at him thoughtfully.
"Is Tony always so um…"
"Yea." McGee nodded. Ziva nodded thoughtfully.
"Claire?"
"Depends." McGee shrugged. She had been picky about who she was cold to. Recently it involved women who hung around Tony….now that he thought about it….
"Do the two of them usually?..." Ziva asked, indicating their almost instinctive teaming up. McGee nodded vigorously.
"Oh all the time." He assured.
"And Gibbs?"
"Oh yea."
"And Abby?" she asked in exasperation, thinking that everyone was always this cold to newcomers. On that one McGee paused.
"Uh….Abby's usually nice." He told her apologetically. Abby was the only one that was surprisingly cold towards the newcomer, usually she was the nicest out of all of them. Ziva pursed her lips in understanding.
"So it's me. I guess I have that effect on people" she mused bitterly.
"Well it's,…..it's not you Ziva. This past month has been hard on everyone. But I'm glad you're here." McGee told her.
"Yes?" she asked as the two continued towards the bank.
"Yup, it means I'm not the newbie anymore." He elaborated. Ziva laughed and McGee continued on towards the door of the bank. He stopped and turned back when he realized Ziva had stopped and was watching her surroundings warily.
"What's wrong?" McGee called curiously.
"Nothing…..still getting used to America I suppose." She brushed off before following him inside.
...
Claire's POV:
As it turned out at the bank McGee and Ziva fond the deposit box, which contained a mummified hand holding an old map and a signet ring. Then as they headed out the door with the evidence a man hidden by a ballcap and sunglasses threatened them with a gun and took the map from them before shoving them both into the fountain outside so they couldn't follow him. Tony and I had a good laugh at the two agent's sopping wet forms as they trudged back into NCIS. I made sure they went to change into cleaner clothes before approaching Gibbs with the news. Poor McGee was terrified to tell Gibbs about it. When they came back, Ziva who had changed into some extra NCIS sweats retreated to her desk and began sketching something in a stray notebook. McGee reluctantly walked over to Gibb's desk to explain.
"Boss I…I…I…I'm sorry, I screwed up and it won't happen again." McGee apologized.
"It wasn't your fault." I told him honestly. McGee sent me a grateful smile.
"She's right. They used us. They used us to get into that safety deposit box." Gibbs added.
"Well he already knew what he wanted, all he asked for was the map." McGee added thoughtfully. Gibbs turned to look at him sharply.
"Map? What map, the map of what?" he asked.
"Well I didn't really get a good look at it." He sheepishly told Gibbs.
"Maybe it was a treasure map Probie." Tony chimed in teasingly from his desk.
"You know like gold, diamonds, silver…" Tony began, already building up to some movie impression before Gibbs cut him off.
"It wasn't like one of your dumb ass movies DiNozzo." Gibbs scolded.
"Sorry boss." Tony muttered apologetically. McGee picked up the remote and zoomed in on a figure in the security pictures they got from the bank.
"We need to find this guy; he claims he was staff sergeant Sorrow's brother." McGee began.
"I might have a name for him. at least some words from Sorrow's farewell message." Tony told us, from behind.
"Oxbow and kerns?" Tony pointed out, referring back to the names in the text. McGee shot a look over to Gibbs.
"Oxbow was the name on the map. The other name might be his." McGee suggested. Gibbs nodded and grabbed the paper that Tony had brought over to them.
"Judd Kerns, a member of the same civil war outfit our staff sergeant belonged to." Tony explained, watching Gibbs scan over the document.
"Address?" Gibbs asked.
"Yea but he's not there." Tony countered, causing Gibbs to stare up at him in question.
"The club is on their way to battlefield park near Manassas. Should be there by this afternoon." Tony explained evenly.
"McGee what else do you remember about the map?" Gibbs asked, standing up to look at the younger agent. McGee sighed, knowing he couldn't help much but Ziva chimed in before he could answer.
"I think I can help with that." She suggested, walking over to deliver her sketch to Gibbs. We all stared down at an accurate replica of a map that she had drawn from memory.
"At Mossad officers who fail to observe don't generally last long." She added as a casual explanation. Tony hummed in amusement.
"And at NCIS they apparently get drop kicked into water fountains." he quipped with a grin. Ziva chuckled dryly.
"That would have never happened if I had my weapon." She assured.
"Ah of course. But hey look on the bright side, at least now you're clean." I pointed out. Ziva sent me a withering look but didn't comment.
"McGee find out what this is a map of." Gibbs ordered, handing him the drawing and McGee scurried off with a nod. Gibbs looked over at Ziva and grinned in approval at her contribution but didn't say anything. Ziva smiled back before walking over to her desk.
...
3rd Person POV:
Gibbs had come back up from Abby's lab where Doctor Mallard, Abby, and the lady Doctor from the Smithsonian were figuring out where the map was leading to.
"Boss, his club checked in with the park rangers. Judd Kerns is there now, are we rolling?" Tony eagerly asked as he hung up the phone and stood up.
"Nope, not yet." Gibbs countered as he dug through his desk and pulled out the guns they had taken from Ziva earlier. She took a double take as he walked over to her, holding out her weapons.
"Gear up." He instructed. Ziva beamed and eagerly took back her weapons, strapping them in hastily. Once she had her weapons Gibbs lead the way out of the bullpen, Tony, Claire, and McGee following behind dutifully but not without sharing an unsure glance with one another. Ziva glanced up to see that she was the last one and dashed off after them, slipping in just as the elevator doors were closing.
...
At the battlefield, the team plus Ducky and the lady Doctor were watching as the reenactors shoot off cannons and muskets to simulate an actual battle. Claire looked over at Tony curiously as he flinched when a cannon went off. He had told her the story and knew that this place held bad memories for him.
"Bring back memories for you Tony?" McGee asked casually.
"That looks like fun." Ziva mused, watching the actors curiously.
"You know what little Anthony DiNozzo's job was during these reenactments Ziva?" Tony asked her, staring accusingly at the actors in front of him.
"Little drummer boy?" she guessed.
"No…I would carry around a bucket so these guys could take a dump. They called me….their little poo boy." He explained with a haunted stare. Instantly the other three began to snicker at the name. Tony shot an accusing glare towards Claire as she tried to stifle her giggle.
"I'm sorry Tony, but you have to admit it's a little funny." She smiled apologetically. Gibbs walked back over to the group, after talking with one of the 'officers'.
"Kerns was out here dressed as a union sergeant." He explained to them and turned to McGee, Tony and Claire.
"You three with me." He instructed and turned back to Ziva.
"You got with them and see if you can match any of the landmarks on the map." With that the 4 agents walked off into the camp to find their sergeant.
...
Ziva's POV:
Watching the rest of 'my team' walk off in search of the sergeant I sighed and reached into my pocket for the copy of the map that I drew. I wasn't sure how I felt about going solo right now. This was nothing new for me in Mossad, but here I was trying to fit in with the rest of the people I was going to be working with. Then again maybe this is a test on how well I can do my job. I never really know with Gibbs, he puzzles me.
"Suggestions doctors?" I asked. The lady doctor walked over and peered over my shoulder.
"Let me look." she muttered. As she held the map she looked up and scanned the scenery in front of them for any landmarks.
"By the orientation of the map, I suggest we start by some of my old dig sites, to the north." She pointed off into the distance.
"Unless….may I?" Ducky offered. With a nod she turned it over to him as he explained.
"During times of war map makers often add terrain or change the direction of north and south in order to confuse…."
"Confuse the enemy before it fell into the wrong hands." I finished off for him.
"Yes, very good Ziva." He mused, looking over at me with an appreciative grin. At least someone likes me at NCIS.
"What puzzles me about this map is this confederate flag in the corner." He pointed to the picture.
"It is unfurled in the opposite direction of most flags." I realized, catching on to what he was saying.
"Precisely." Ducky agreed and we turned the map 'upside down'.
"I think we should start looking to the south." Ducky told them. I nodded at him with a grin before leading them over in that direction. I took notice that the woman was a bit hesitant to head in this direction but I didn't think much of it.
...
3rd Person POV:
Over in the camp, the agents walked around and scanned for their suspect.
"Boss, your three o'clock, red stripes." Tony indicated to him lowly, so as not to raise suspicion. The agents turned to look at the man who was talking with another. As if feeling eyes on him Kerns turned in their direction and his eyes widened in alarm.
"That's the man from the bank video." McGee informed.
"Ten bucks says he's gonna make a run for it." Claire muttered to Tony under her breath.
"Deal." He agreed, staring at the man calmly in hopes to get him to stay put. Gibbs raised up his badge and the man took off in the opposite direction.
"Oh he's gone." Tony muttered as the agents took off parallel to his path in hopes to catch up.
"This is bad." Tony added as the agents ducked under the low branches of the trees while they raced after the man.
"Ya think?" Gibbs snapped. Claire and Tony took up the lead and pumped their arms hard as they pushed themselves to cut Kerns off.
"Double or nothing that I catch him first." Claire grunted as she tried to pace herself as they sprinted. Tony huffed and shot her an incredulous look.
"You ran track at Ohio State and placed at a national level. I don't think that's fair!" he countered, his lungs starting to burn. Claire chuckled breathlessly.
"You scared Tony? Besides I'm out of shape for track." She prodded teasingly. Tony wasn't one to back down from a challenge and he was enjoying the banter while they continued the chase.
"Fine." he grunted. They all came out on the other side of the small grove but Kerns was just ahead of them, still sprinting at top speeds.
"Son of a…." Gibbs muttered angrily as the four of them followed after. Claire caught her second wind and pushed herself even harder into a dead sprint after the man. Tony and Gibbs fell slightly behind as she started gaining on their suspect. With one last burst she lept forward and tackled the guy onto the grass, sending both of them tumbling. Kerns groaned in pain as he laid on his stomach with the female agent on sitting on top of him. Gibbs was the first one to reach her and cuffed the guy on the ground while Tony walked up next to him, hands on his knees as he heaved in deep breaths. Claire stood up stiffly and mimicked his posture, struggling to gain her own breath back.
"Oh god I'm really out of shape." She moaned, feeling her whole body burning. Tony glared at her teasingly.
"Whatever." He muttered. They looked at each other and huffed out a laugh before turning back to Gibbs.
"Not bad boss, I thought you were still behind me…..until Claire tackled him." Tony quipped and straightened up to gain more air.
"Not likely DiNozzo." Gibbs countered as he tried to gain back his own breath. Just then McGee came running over, having just now caught up in the chase.
"What's his excuse?" Tony asked, jabbing a thumb in McGee's direction. McGee glared over at him as he panted.
...
Meanwhile after some trekking through the woods, Ziva and the two doctors made their way to a cemetery with a familiar marking on the gate.
"It wasn't an 'X' on the map." she mused.
"It was a cross." Ducky added, gesturing to the cross on the gate. Their heads whipped around in confusion as the sounds of a power tool could be heard from just around the corner.
"Ducky wait here and call Gibbs. Tell him to hurry." Ziva instructed and made her way towards the noise with her gun drawn. She snuck her way through the cover of the nearby tress to find two men by an iron casket. One was unscrewing the bolts with a power took it open while the other, dressed as a union solider, was watching.
"We need to hurry this up." The soldier snapped.
"Well that's it." The other man shrugged as he tossed aside the last screw. They both reached down and yanked on the top of it to pry it off. It came open with a loud groan and was tossed aside to reveal an assortment of antique guns.
"They buried these things so the south could rise again. And now they are all mine." The soldier smiled as he turned one of them over in his hands. Ziva used this moment to pop out of her hiding spot and come up behind them.
"Well there's gotta be 50 of them in here." The man's partner marveled.
"35 grand a pop." Union man told him.
"That's uh…"
"1.5 million." Ziva answered for him. The two jumped and looked up to see the Israeli woman pointing her gun at them. One of the men glanced over at his own weapon.
"Your rifle is 10 feet away…I wouldn't recommend trying it." Ziva pursed her lips in disapproval.
...
"I didn't do anything wrong." Kerns insisted once they got him off the ground.
"Yea, what about resisting arrest Kerns. And what's that other charge mcgee?" Tony feigned forgetfulness and looked over at his partner curiously.
"Murdering staff sergeant Warren Sorrow." He answered without sparing a glance at the man. Kerns froze.
"Sorrow's dead. No way, you guys can't pin that on me. I wouldn't." Kerns shook his head frantically, looking between the two of them.
"They told me he got scared and took off." Kerns explained.
"He was buried alive…in a coffin, dirt bag." Claire countered harshly. Kerns started sniffling shakily.
"I didn't sign up for this." He muttered tearfully.
"All she said I had to do was distract you." He told them.
"DiNozzo, Conners come on." Gibbs ordered hurriedly, getting of his cell. The agents shot him a curious look but didn't ask as they followed.
...
"Ducky? Ducky where is Gibbs?" Ziva called once she had both men on their knees.
"Ducky can't answer right now." The lady doctor answered as she walked behind Ducky with a gun pointed at his head. Ziva glanced in their direction and as she did one of the men shifted towards his gun. He froze one more when Ziva turned her gun back his way.
"Drop the gun. Now, or he dies." The woman ordered. Ziva whipped around to face her. When the others shifted she whipped back around, trying to keep an eye on everyone but it was proving difficult.
"Shoot her Ziva, she'll only kill both of us." Ducky suggested calmly as he watched Ziva frantically shift back and forth between the two groups, trying to decide who was more important to guard. After a moment of tension Ziva raised one of her hands compliantly and let her gun go slack. She glanced over at the diggers while slowly lowering to set down her gun.
"And those weapons? That is why you killed that poor staff sergeant?" she asked.
"He found Ooxbow's casket on the map. He actually wanted to turn them in to a museum." The woman scoffed.
"The only mistake we made was killing him before we got the map." The union man chimed in.
"You two will be the unfortunate victims of scavengers." The woman pouted and shoved Ducky to the ground next to Ziva. As she raised her gun to shoot Ziva, the agent reached to her side and in one swift moment launched her knife at the doctor.
...
In the woods, Gibbs jerked his head up in alarm as the sound of a gunshot could be heard. Instantly the three of them took off towards the noise, racing into the clearing to find the lady doctor on the ground dead, a knife in her chest, and Ziva pointing her weapon at the other two men calmly. Tony stared at her calm composure and huffed.
"Remind me not to piss her off." He mused.
"Oh DiNozzo you have no idea." Gibbs quipped as they stared over at her. Ziva shot them both a wink but didn't argue.
...
Claire's POV:
Once everything had been cleared up and everyone arrested that was responsible, the team headed back to NCIS to file our paperwork. Gibbs had been the last one to leave besides me. I had some things to think about and needed the extra time alone. As I grabbed some coffee from the break room I thought back to Ziva. She had clearly proven herself in the field today and I would be blind not to acknowledge it. In truth she wasn't all that bad, a little rough around the edges but not a horrible person. As I walked back to the bullpen I started a little when I saw Ziva staring up at me from Kate's desk. The room was dark and she was sitting there with the overhead lamp on to illuminate her face.
"I thought you went home?" I pointed out curiously.
"I was going to but Gibbs mentioned that you had something you wanted to talk to me about." She answered, looking up at me expectantly. I rolled my eyes in exasperation. Leave it to Gibbs to pick up on how I was feeling and meddling in my personal life. Then again I was almost glad he told her. It made it easier for me to bring it up.
"Um, I just wanted to advise you to back off of Tony a bit." I told her calmly. Ziva raised a brow at me curiously, an impish grin crossing her face.
"No! I don't mean it like how it came out!..." I stuttered, instantly reddening at how that must have sounded. I sighed and tried again.
"I mean that he isn't big on being played with emotionally and with you always hovering around him and making innuendo's kinda makes him uncomfortable." I elaborated. Ziva nodded her head thoughtfully.
"Then why doesn't he tell me this himself?" she asked.
"Because he's too proud for his own good. He probably thinks it'll make him less manly to admit he's uncomfortable around a woman." I told her in amusement. Ziva chuckled.
"That's why I'm saying it. I'm his partner and it's my job to take care of the things he won't do himself." I added thoughtfully. Ziva nodded in understanding.
"I do not mean cause you all discomfort around me. That would probably explain a lot." She mused sheepishly. I nodded silently because I couldn't really argue with her.
"Does this mean that you are accepting me now?" she asked curiously, her eyes showing some vulnerability. I understood that sometimes it was hard being the newbie, especially coming into a group as close as ours was. I pursed my lips thoughtfully before answering.
"Not yet. I still have some grudges and uncertainties about you. But maybe that will change in time. This is just me giving you advise on how to stay on my good side." I told her, smirking a bit at the end. Ziva smiled and nodded thankfully. We may not be friends right now, but at least we can get to the point where we can be amiable with one another.