Chapter 53

south of Richmond, Virginia

None of the three agents in the rented car sitting outside a farmhouse had seen anything like this part of Virginia throughout their lives.

Rural, out of the way, not even a gas station for blocks around, nor a house of any kind; only the pavement on the two-lane road they took to get here, and the phone and electric lines paralleling it, showed any sign of civiliation.

It was miles from the urban areas Tony DiNozzo and Seeley Booth normally frequented, and an ocean and a continent away from the homeland Michael Rivkin knew, loved and worked to protect.

The two-story farm house itself looked old and not in the best of shape, though it did seem to have electricity, as evidenced by the lights on in the front room.

On a clear, late fall evening, with more stars than he had seen in a long time, Tony wasn't concerned with the structure of the house, nor with reviewing the thousands of movies he had seen to match the scene before him to.

He was worried about who was in that house.

"What in hell is the assistant director of my agency doing talking to the sister of a terrorist we're trying to find?" Tony muttered.

"Intel," Rivkin said. "Agent Booth. Follow me. Agent DiNozzo, stay here."

"Stay here and do what?!" Tony said, as Rivkin and Booth got out of the car; Rivkin popped the trunk and took out a gym bag; and both men ran to the house, as quietly as possible.

Tony decided this would be a good time to phone Gibbs.

"Boss," Tony said after Gibbs picked up at his house, "we're somewhere south of Richmond, out in the sticks. Rivkin had me stop near some farmhouse that Ziva went to. And you won't believe who's there with her."

"Who, DiNozzo?"

"NCIS Assistant Director Jenny Shepard...didn't you work with her in Paris, boss?"

"Is Rivkin with you?" Gibbs said after a couple of beats.

"He and Booth got out of the car after we stopped, Rivkin got a bag out of the trunk, told me to stay put, and they both ran up to the house-"

"DiNozzo. Do you see them?"

"I can barely see the house," Tony said. "The only light I can see besides from my phone is from the main room."

"Movement inside the house?"

"Not that I can tell from here, boss."

"I'll call the Director. Stay put."

A few minutes later, Booth and Rivkin returned to the car.

"You guys go zombie hunting?" DiNozzo said.

"If by that you mean placing listening devices around the house so we could listen in, then yes," Rivkin replied.

Washington

While Gibbs was calling NCIS Director Tom Morrow, Rivkin was calling the Director of the FBI; Tobias Fornell, one of the senior Bureau agents on the Haswari case, was linked into what, in effect, was a vast conference call.

At Gibbs' house, Jane, Maura and Frankie walked through the front door, waved hello to Mike Franks, and saw an unfamiliar face.

"Fritz Howard. FBI," the agent said as he stood up, shaking the hands of both Rizzoli siblings and Dr. Isles.

"Another FBI agent? How many of you are there?" Jane joked.

"All of us," Howard joked back. "I'm...I've been assigned here, by the Bureau."

Howard neglected to tell them that he was there as a favor to Tobias Fornell.

"Where is Paris?" Maura asked, in reference to NCIS agent Paris Summerskill, assigned temporarily to Washington to help guard Jane, Maura, Kate and the Gibbs house.

"She's at Ducky's house," Franks replied, "helping guard Kate. And Ducky, and Abby. You never know who'd try to steal that pumpkin pie-"

Gibbs ran out from the basement, through the living room, and out to his truck, cell phone in ear.

"I think maybe I should see what that's about," Franks said.

"Think I'll join you," Jane added.

Jane and Franks saw Gibbs jump in his truck and back out of the driveway; Jane ran and stopped him before he pulled out into the road.

"NCIS business, Rizzoli-"

"You said that before."

Gibbs exhaled, looked off to the side, knowing the Boston detective wanted more info than 'company housekeeping'.

"Ari's sister finally stopped," Gibbs said, engine running.

"What does that mean, probie?" Franks asked.

"It means Jenny is talking to her, and DiNozzo and that FBI agent and Mossad officer with him can listen in on them," Gibbs said. "The director wants me there at MTAC. Jane, call agent McGee, ask him to fill Dr. Isles in on the hacking incident from earlier today. Mike, tell Jane who Jenny is. I'll be back ASAP."

Gibbs pulled out into the street and sped away.

The farmhouse, south of Richmond

"The assistant director should be wired; our listening devices will pick up the wire, allowing us to listen in on her conversation with Ziva, which we can play in real time to your directors," Rivkin said to DiNozzo and Booth.

"Are you telling me the assistant director is in on this?" DiNozzo asked. "Is Ari's sister in on it, too?"

"What they're 'in', Agent DiNozzo, is this: we believe Ziva is cooperating with us, and willing to pass along important intel," Rivkin replied. "The assistant director is wired, as the FBI, Mossad and NCIS all want to hear this conversation for ourselves."

"The assistant director – who knows Ziva – and is going to talk to her about Ari – is wired," Tony stated. "Something about that sounds off."

"Like what if Ziva is telling Jenny what she wants to hear," Booth added, "or if Jenny – having worked with Ziva in the past – might hold back on questioning, or Ziva might take advantage of that relationship—"

"They worked together?" Tony said.

"Did you not read the report?" Rivkin said. "Or were you too busy ogling women at the gas station?"

Dammit, Tony thought. I did miss that part.

"Anyway: the assistant director is wired, and she is not necessarily aware of this," Rivkin said, as he put on his headphones. "Mr. Booth's female associates placed it among the wiring of her brassiere. Without her knowledge, of course."

"And – this will give us an opportunity to see those two interact, and whether we can trust your assistant director," Booth said. "Do you know her, Tony?"

"Not really," Tony said, as he and Booth put on their own pairs of headphones. "Gibbs worked with her in Paris. She got the assistant director's job not long ago; Boss said very little about it; Ducky told me most of it. Said it sounded like it was mainly political."

"Jenny is discussing the stock market," Rivkin said.

"So?" Tony.

"So…that is her signal that she and Ziva are going to talk shop, as it were," Rivkin said.

Inside the sparse living room of the townhouse, Jenny asked Ziva what her business was in America; Ziva said "the usual."

"Meaning?" Tony said.

"Conducting Ari's business in America, while passing along intel to American intelligence agencies and Mossad when she can," Rivkin said. "As well as attempting to defuse any impromptu and impulsive ideas her brother may have."

"Such as?" Tony asked.

"Telling Ziva to murder a federal agent," Rivkin answered. "Or provide materiel for a member of the Fighters of God, or an independent agent, to carry out a shooting or bombing."

"Shhhh!" Booth said.

In the house, Ziva told Jenny she is "definitely" an unwilling partner in Ari's crusade, and believes her unwillingness to participate in his and the FoG's proposed 'minor operations' may soon result in her being found out.

"How so?" the three agents heard Jenny ask.

"Ari is coming under pressure to intensify his efforts," Ziva said. "Not now; they know the Americans are on to him. But they believe that over time the Americans will relax, once their superiors believe the threat has lessened. And that will be the time, his associates believe, for them – and him – to strike."

"When?" Jenny said.

"Sometime in the spring, perhaps around Memorial Day," Ziva said.

Jenny and Ziva talked further, about Ziva's opinion that if she doesn't do something she termed 'immoral' her cover may be blown.

"And that would make it necessary for me to either commit an atrocity that would put me in the same category as my brother with your intelligence and with Mossad," Ziva told her, "or force me to leave, and go underground."

"Underground?" Jenny asked.

"Ari would be displeased," Ziva replied, "and would possibly turn his attention from our father" – Eli David, Mossad director – "Gibbs, and the others and take his aggressions out on me. And…he may become totally radicalized by the FoG, and any influence I have on him gone with it."

"Ziva, is there any possibility you could influence him to just walk away from all this? Leave Gibbs, and agent Todd, and all of those women alone?" Jenny asked – almost pleadingly, by Tony's judgment.

"I can influence him to leave you alone," Ziva said. "He has little interest in you anyway, just as he really has no interest in Gibbs' ex-wives. I understand the FBI has Diane Sterling under heavy guard, but that is not necessary—"

"She was married to Gibbs."

"His lack of relationship to his former wives has been duly noted by Ari," Ziva answered. "Ari is more interested in Gibbs' father than in the ex-wives. And you, Jenny."

"Yeah…me and Abby and Kate spent a good two-and-a-half hours talking about Gibbs's dad, starting with the fact that he had a dad, and finishing up with talk of a road trip to Stillwater and me getting slapped in the back of the head," Tony mused, before being shushed by Rivkin and Booth.

"What is his end game, Ziva? Really?" Jenny said.

"My and his father. Eli."

"Why he connected with this Fighters of God group."

"Yes. But not until he concludes his business with Gibbs and agent Todd," Ziva continued. "Some days, he seems…weary of the matter. As if he wants to walk away. In recent days, that has not been the case. He is slowly, gradually, becoming more committed to what he refers to as 'finishing the mission'."

"Finishing the mission?"

"Or, as you Americans might say, 'topping the cake'."

Back in the car, all three men looked at each other totally confused. "What on earth is that girl talking about?" Booth said.

Jenny must have been equally confused, Tony thought.

"Ziva," Jenny said, "does that mean Ari plans to murder agents Gibbs and Todd, and every woman on the list?"

A few beats later, Ziva answered.

"As much as I would like to say no…I have to say yes," she said. "He is gradually, steadily, more committed to accomplishing his goals. Killing the Americans is his immediate goal, and one he is committed to, one might even say exuberant at times about accomplishing. However…this occasionally creates tension between he and his associates."

"How?" Jenny asked.

"Their goals are…different," Ziva said. "They are willing to work with him, and assist him, but ultimately so he can assist them in their greater goals, which Mossad is still attempting to learn."

"Is his…obsession with Gibbs creating this tension?"

"You might say that. From what little Ari has told me, they would like him to drop the obsession in favor of greater goals."

Jenny and Ziva discussed the FoG terrorist group further, including the 'greater goals', which Ziva knew only to be general, 9/11-type attacks in America, Israel, western Europe and the Middle East. Ziva mused whether the group might want Ari to be its leader, and tolerating his 'side endeavors' for the future payoff of his assistance in its 'greater goals'.

Finally, Jenny told Ziva she needs to tell the American FBI, NSA, Homeland and CIA what she knows; "I am," Ziva replied, "by telling you."

"Of course, gentlemen," Rivkin said back in the car, "I am not fully taking her at her word. And neither should you."

Washington, NCIS headquarters

MTAC

Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Director Tom Morrow and assorted techies were listening in on the conversation, along with Leon Vance from Special Ops in Los Angeles and Hetty Lange in New York (both of whom were on video on the main screen).

"Is our end game here to have a mole within Haswari's network?" Hetty said. "Or do we have a plan to apprehend her if necessary?"

"Both," Morrow replied. "There is a task force assigned to do the latter; all they need is the go-ahead from myself and the FBI and Homeland Security directors."

"Unanimous, Director?" asked Gibbs.

"Yes. To prevent two of the three from wrongly activating the task force."

"Smart."

"And as smart, Jethro, as the plan to keep Ziva David in the field," Hetty said. "She is a greater asset, given her connection to the assistant director, to us there than if she was brought in, by us or Mossad."

"I have to disagree," Vance said. "She's a wild card. We don't know for certain she's telling Jenny everything she knows. She could be lying to Jenny and setting us up. Agent Gibbs; what is your opinion."

If Gibbs relied on his logic, he would have sided with Vance, hands-down, and led the charge in asking Morrow to bring her in.

However, Gibbs was one to rely on his 'gut' – call it intuition or whatever you will – and it was telling him that Ziva was trustworthy.

"Leave her out there," Gibbs said, noticing Vance exhaling in frustration.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Vance thought. You have a unique way of making my job much, much more difficult than it needs to be.

Farmhouse, south of Richmond

Another unmarked car pulled behind the one Rivkin, Tony and Booth were in, and for a few moments that was a cause for alarm for Tony.

Booth reassured him it was friendly, and in fact two of Booth's FBI associates were in it. Rivkin put the car in reverse, following the unmarked vehicle into a place not far, where they could be hidden from someone driving down the road. Rivkin and one of the agents got out and watched the house.

Several minutes later, Rivkin motioned for Booth to get out and meet him, leaving Tony alone.

Tony placed a call to Gibbs.

"Boss," he said, explaining the past hour and a half from his perspective. "Rivkin and some FBI guy are out on the road, while we're hidden behind trees and bushes—"

Ziva's car flew past their position; moments later, Rivkin motioned for the unmarked car to pull out, then got in with the other agent, and the car speed away.

"Boss, I think Rivkin and Booth left me behind," Tony said, only to notice Booth sprinting back towards his position, then jumping in the driver's seat next to Tony.

"Rivkin and those FBI agents are gone, following Ziva David," Booth said. "We're debriefing your assistant director."

"No, Booth, WE'RE debriefing the assistant director," Gibbs said on Tony's cell, now on speakerphone.

Booth and Tony drove up to the house, where they got out and met Jenny; back in the townhouse, the three debriefed, with Gibbs, Morrow, Vance and Hetty listening in on audio.