Hi Everyone,

Here's chapter 12, the penultimate chapter of this story. I had so much fun writing it, it's probably my favourite so far. I hope you like it too!

Spoilers: This story is set just after Ziva David left NCIS (S11 E02: Past, Present, and Future). I don't take in account what happened in the series after that event. As there have been many seasons (and many Tiva developments) since, let's just say that this is a fun AU.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS, I don't earn any money with this story, I'm just enjoying playing with the characters.

Playlist: Every chapter is inspired by a song. For this chapter, it's Paradise Lost - Fall From Grace. Check out my profile for more details!

I hope you enjoy!

Temples of Gold

Chapter 12: One Last Defiance On Command

'Why don't you kill her?'

Alexandra Bell had never felt more angry in her life. Not when her parents had disowned her because she chose to be a US Marine instead of a boring housewife in the suburbs. Not when her superior at bootcamp had tried to assault her and was never punished for his actions. And not when her whole team in Afghanistan had ostracised her for being the only woman.

She had been misunderstood, shoved aside, and abused for most of her life, until she had met Benham. He had made her feel special, he had given her life a purpose and he had proven to her that she could love unconditionally. She had torpedoed her career, her life, all her relationships because she believed in him, because he was more than a man. He was a symbol, he was the strength that the world needed.

So why in the hell was he so insistent on keeping the blonde computer nerd alive? Alex hated how Benham looked at Bishop, how he spoke to her softly and gently.

'This is not up to you,' replied Benham brusquely. 'Eleanor, please sit down,' he added, softer.

Alex watched Bishop sit heavily on one of the seats, while Benham rushed to the back where Gibbs has disappeared. He stopped in front of a narrow nook that Alex had never noticed before.

'It's a door,' Benham said with rage.

He aimed his gun at it and shot five times, making Bishop jump each time. Each bullet seemed to lodge itself into the door with very little damage.

'I think it's a panic room,' informed him Alex. 'You can't get in but Gibbs can't escape either.'

Benham kicked the door in rage several times. Alex felt his pain. He had done all this to get revenge on his parents' killer, and now Gibbs was out of reach. Softly, she tried to reassure him.

'He'll die soon. You'll get your revenge.'

Panting, Benham walked back to the front of the room with a dangerous look on his face.

'I'm almost done,' continued Alex. 'You should kill her now, then we can leave.'

Benham sat in the seat next to Bishop's, and replied, 'I'll decide when it's time to kill.'

Bishop looked terrified but Benham hadn't even roughed her for trying to escape. This was wrong. She hadn't done all of this to be replaced by a blonde bimbo.

'What difference does it make?' Alex asked bitterly. 'She will die anyway, like all of them.'

She saw Bishop's eyes widen with fear. Good, she thought. Be scared of me.

'Alexandra, shut up or I will kill you.'

Benham's voice was steely cold. It cut through her like butter, leaving her lost and terribly ashamed. He had never called her anything else than "Annie" before, so she knew it was serious. Who was she to doubt him? He had engineered the whole plan, he knew what he was doing. She had to trust him, even when his actions left her feel like when her parents punished her for something she hadn't done. The unfairness made her throat tighten and her eyes burn. She would not cry. Not today.

She sat back down, avoiding Benham's gaze, and turned her attention to the computer. She had regained full control of the MTAC systems for now, but she was worried it would not last. She also wondered who had managed to bypass MTAC's firewalls so easily. To her knowledge, McGee and Abby were the only ones capable of such a feat, and since McGee was currently tied down in the observation room, it could only be Abby. That little rat.

She opened the CCTV software, and selected the camera showing the entrance of Abby's lab. It looked desert. Frowning, she clicked the rewind button and observed the image stay immobile while the time stamp moved backwards. Then, a shape appeared, walking backwards through the door. Alex pushed the play button, and held her breath as she saw the shape exiting the forensics lab. It wasn't Abby.

She turned to Benham and almost groaned when she saw that he was sitting next to Bishop and was whispering in her ear. They looked like a couple. It made her want to vomit.

'Benham?' she called, weakly.

'What?'

The icy tone pierced her heart, but she forced herself to continue. Business first. 'We have a problem.'

She moved her torso so he could see the image, clear as day, on her screen. Against all odds, Benham smiled. 'Ziva David,' he said.

'What's she doing here? She was supposed to be dead,' said Alex.

'She's tenacious.'

His smiled didn't drop, as though this was excellent news. Alex didn't share his enthusiasm. 'She probably hacked into MTAC. She's dangerous. What if she stops the countdown?'

'What countdown?' asked Bishop.

Benham ignored the blonde, and stood up. 'Then we'll have to make sure Ziva David doesn't stop us,' he said softly, joining Alex near the computers and putting his hand on her shoulder, squeezing faintly.

'How?' she asked.

Benham accentuated the pressure on her shoulder and stayed silent. Alex stared at Ziva David on the screen, then at him.

'She's Mossad,' she said. Benham's fingers dug into her flesh. 'She knows the building,' she continued. Her shoulder protested against the pressure. 'She's a trained assassin.' Her eyes teared up. Then she capitulated. 'OK.' Immediately, Benham released her and nodded.

With a heavy heart, she stood up and grabbed her gun from its holster, checked the magazine and replaced it with a little too much force.

'You have less than ten minutes,' she said, before typing a few commands on the keyboard.

Ziva David disappeared from the screen to be replaced with a bright red countdown showing nine minutes and forty-six seconds. A feature she had installed via a backdoor in the system, after she had rigged the foundation of the building. The explosives would detonate when the countdown reached zero and the NCIS building would be levelled to the ground, with all its occupants.

'Here's the remote,' she said, holding up a small square casing. 'It's the third window on the left. The fire ladder leads to the back, there's no camera there.'

'Thank you, Annie,' Benham said.

He grabbed the remote and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, before sitting back next to Bishop. Alex felt like crying, but she strengthened herself and marched to the door.

One way or another, Ziva David would die today.

—

Tony slowly opened the bottom drawer of his desk and let a sigh of relief escape his lips at the sight of his backup weapon. Never in his life had he been more happy to have followed NCIS protocol. The Antony DiNozzo from ten years ago would not have bothered with a backup in his desk, arrogant as he was. But since then, he had shared a bullpen with Ziva, who had a backup to her backup, plus an unsaid amount of knives in case the guns didn't work. Amongst other things, her paranoia had rubbed on him a little. He really ought to thank her for that, if he made it out of the building alive.

The squad room was only lit with the fluorescent bulbs on the ceiling. The large window bays were all shut and he guessed that opening them would be mission impossible. The whole room was silent and, as he was crouched next to his desk, checking the magazine of his SIG-Sauer, he felt uncomfortably exposed. There were no signs of Gibbs or the others, which meant that they had either gone up to MTAC or the Director's office, or down to the exit. Tony wasn't sure which one was more likely.

He stood up carefully, just for a couple of seconds, to make sure that he was completely alone. His eyes fell on the desk in front of his just as he crouched back down and he felt completely drained of energy. Alex had left her handbag on the edge of the desk. Her coat was hung on the back of her chair. A couple of knick knacks and picture frames were disseminated on the desk and the chests of drawers behind. The epitome of normal.

Tony cursed himself for the millionth time since this morning. He should have seen it coming. He should have prevented it. He should have called Ziva until she picked up. He should have talked Gibbs out of interrogating Parsa.

'Focus, DiNozzo,' he whispered to himself.

He didn't have time to wallow. Later, when the situation resolved itself, someone would have to be accountable for the events that had led to this mess. In the meantime, Tony needed to make sure that they would all be alive to answer the questions.

A sound startled him. It wasn't loud but in the deserted squad room it echoed like a thunderstorm. Tony couldn't locate the origin of the noise but it sounded to him like a magnetic lock releasing. He had heard it thousands of times when entering MTAC.

Then, he heard the faint thud of footsteps on the carpet. This time, he could make out that it was coming from the mezzanine. Someone had exited MTAC and was walking in the direction of the stairs.

Tony couldn't risk another glimpse above his desk partition. As he had feared, he was completely exposed. Silently, he crouched under his desk. With a little luck, whoever was heading downstairs would walk past without seeing him.

The steps were careful, slow, almost silent. From the vantage point on the stairs, it was possible to see the whole squad room. Tony suspected that the slightest noise from his part would be met with a hailstorm of bullets.

He forced himself to stay perfectly immobile and to slow down his chaotic breath. The sound of the footsteps stopped for a long time, somewhere at the top of the last flight of stairs, right behind his desk. Then he heard the click of a gun safety.

'Show yourself!'

It was Alex's voice. She sounded tense, but determined. Tony winced. He hadn't heard any other footsteps so Parsa wasn't with her, but it didn't make much difference. Alex was a precise shooter and he didn't have much of a cover.

'You're not as skilled as you think,' continued Alex. 'If you don't get out now, I will shoot.'

Tony considered the gun in his hand. She would assume he was armed and he didn't want to give her another reason to shoot him. With a sigh, he dropped the SIG delicately on the carpet near him.

'Last warning!' shouted Alex.

Tony opened his mouth to acknowledge her but he was stopped by another voice, from the far side of the room.

'All right! I'm coming out!'

His heart skipped a beat. That voice… It couldn't be.

'Ziva David,' confirmed Alex.

He heard footsteps coming from afar. Careful, methodical steps. The footsteps of someone pointing a gun at a target, trying not to loose the aim.

'I presume you are Agent Bell.'

Ziva's voice was tired, raspy. Tony had no way of seeing her without being detected, but he could perfectly picture her face, concentrated, her eyes fixed on the target, her supple walk, one step at a time, her small frame tensed forward. He knew her too well.

'You're supposed to be on the other side of the planet,' said Alex. 'Oh, and dead.'

'Sorry to disappoint.'

Tony tried to pinpoint exactly where both women stood without having to show himself. From the sound of her voice, Alex stood in the same spot, on the last flight of stairs behind him. Ziva's steps placed her somewhere near the Most Wanted wall.

'You should not have intervened,' said Alex. He heard her come closer as she slowly made her way down the stairs. 'We would have let you live if you had stayed away.'

Tony lifted the SIG delicately from the floor, wincing when the weapon clicked faintly.

'Where's Gibbs?' asked Ziva.

Alex chuckled. The sound made Tony's hair rise up his neck. 'Interesting. You're asking about Gibbs, not Tony. I can see where your priorities lie. Tony will be so disappointed.'

Guiltily, Tony remembered the many times he had vented to Alex about Ziva. How he had relentlessly complained about her departure, about her apparent indifference, about her close relationship with Gibbs. Alex knew exactly what buttons to push. He had given her all the ammunition she needed.

Ziva didn't take the bait. She was smarter than he was. 'Where is Parsa?' she asked instead.

'You won't reach him.' There was an edge in Alex's voice that made Tony shiver. It wasn't a fact, it was a promise.

Tony heard Ziva take two more steps. She had not shot Alex yet, which could mean that she wanted to negotiate or that she didn't have a clear shot. Either way, she was putting herself in more danger with every stride. Tony didn't have any doubt that Alex would shoot her as soon as she could.

'I don't have time to play,' said Ziva.

'Me neither. If I kill you quick enough, I'll be out of here before…'

She didn't finish, but Ziva completed for her. '… before your bomb detonates. I saw the countdown. The whole building is rigged to explode in less than eight minutes.'

Tony felt his bowels churn, but forced himself to stay perfectly immobile. Alex had reached the bottom of the stairs. With a little luck, she would pass by his desk and he could slip behind to neutralise her.

'So, you're the one who hacked into MTAC. I knew it!'

Even in his precarious position, Tony stifled a silent chuckle. Ziva, a hacker? The girl who threw a screen in the trash because of one measly dead pixel? She hadn't changed that much.

'Hacking?' Ziva replied with a laugh. 'I would not know where to start. McGee, however, is extremely talented in that area and he will stop your countdown. It's over.'

She wasn't exactly bluffing but he could hear that she wasn't telling the entire truth. He wondered if she had really found McGee.

'I don't believe you.'

Ziva didn't reply and instead took one more step. She was too close. It was too dangerous.

'Fine,' snapped Alex. 'You found McGee. Then I guess you reunited with Tony. He must have been so happy, his soulmate finally came back.'

Again, Ziva didn't reply. Alex stopped, a few feet from his desk. Not far enough.

'Unless, Tony wasn't there,' said Alex. 'Yes, that's it, you're looking for him. Maybe I should find him first, give him a taste of… partner's love. After all, I was here when you weren't.'

'You will not hurt Tony.'

Tony heard the smile in Alex's voice when she replied. 'Jealous?'

'Of you? A terrorist's lackey? I think not.'

A gunshot detonated in the room, startling Tony so much that he almost dropped his gun. Terrified, he risked another glance but didn't see Ziva anymore.

'That's ok, I'll have the pleasure of telling Tony that you're dead before I kill him too.'

Tony's heart beat so strong in his chest that it made him nauseated. Ziva couldn't be dead. She couldn't have come all this way to die only a few feet from him.

Answering his silent plea, Ziva's voice came from the partition behind her old desk. 'You will not kill anyone else.'

Another gunshot forced Tony to cover his ears. When he risked an eye out, he saw that the bullet had pierced the partition wall.

'You know,' shouted Alex. 'I could easily have had Tony. He was so lonely after you left, it would have been almost too easy. I would just have had to click my fingers and he would have fallen in bed with me. He would have liked it too, after all these years pining for a stone-cold bitch like you.'

Tony wanted to protest that he would never had done anything with Alex, but the sound of Ziva's shotgun exploded in the room, piercing the wall and the stairs right above his head. Alex retorted with two bullets. One of them lodged itself right into Tony's computer screen. Ziva didn't shoot again.

He couldn't stay under the desk. He was right in the middle and the probability of a stray bullet hitting him was high. But he didn't know what to do. Any movement would be immediately detected. He could not escape.

There was only one solution. He stuck the SIG behind his back, hiding it with his jacket.

'Timeout! Stop shooting!' he called.

Tony straightened and slowly stepped out of his hideout, his hands high above his head. On his left, Alex stood two feet from him, her body hidden by the wall partition but her gun firmly pointed at his head. On his right, Ziva was further away, hidden by another wall partition, the end of her shotgun peeking on the side. They could both shoot at any moment and he was completely defenceless in the middle. If Tony lived to see another day, he would remember this as the stupidest move of his career.

Forcing himself to ignore both barrels pointed at him, Tony flashed the DiNozzo trademark smile.

'Ladies, ladies. No need to fight. I'm here.'

—

'Where were we?' whispered Parsa in Ellie's ear.

The proximity of the man made her shiver. She felt sick to her stomach and wondered if puking on Parsa would get him the hell away from her. She also wondered if Gibbs could hear them from the panic room.

'You said that you didn't want to kill me,' she replied, proud of her neutral tone. She didn't want him to hear how terrified she felt.

'And I meant it. You have nothing to worry from me.'

'Your gun pointed at me says otherwise.'

He hadn't deviated the weapon since he had caught her trying to escape.

'A simple insurance.' He bent forward, stopping only a few inches from her face. 'I have thought about you every day, Eleanor. Why did you stop chasing me?'

'I… I was made to stop,' she replied, trying to stifle the trembling in her voice. 'I didn't have a choice.'

'I have to say, I was truly disappointed to hear about your marriage. I thought we had something special…'

Her need to vomit intensified. He could not mean what she thought he meant. 'I don't understand.'

Parsa raised his hand and chased a strand of hair from her forehead, then caressed slowly her cheek. 'You found me. All these years, you always found me. You knew what I was thinking before I even thought it. You understand me better than anyone. Don't deny it.'

Ellie wanted to scream that it was her job to get into psychopaths' heads to catch them. It was nothing personal. It was certainly not what he insinuated. Instead, she temporised. 'It was a long time ago.'

'We were destined to meet, Eleanor.'

A faint ruffling sound from a few rows behind them made him turn his head at the exact right time so that she could hide her wince of disgust. But since Gibbs was still hidden in the panic room and there was no one else in MTAC, so Parsa's gaze came back to her quickly.

'I don't know…' she said weakly.

Another ruffling sound, closer, made them both turn their heads. Parsa stood up and went up a few steps, suspicious. He looked around, pointing his gun at the empty rows, then walked all the way to the panic room door.

Suddenly, Ellie heard a whisper coming from behind her. 'Distract him.' It was faint enough that Parsa didn't seem to hear it. She realised that the voice belonged to Gibbs and wondered for a second if the man had mastered invisibility. 'Keep him busy,' Gibbs said again and this time Ellie understood. The voice came from underneath the floorboard that covered the tiered seating. Gibbs had never reached the panic room. He was under their feet.

Parsa came back to the front and declared, 'We should go. We only have a few minutes.'

Ellie knew that if she ever followed Parsa out, she would never be able to escape him. She had to improvise.

'We are leaving? I though you would wait for Agent Bell. Aren't you… involved?'

'Annie is a means to an end. Nothing else.'

Ellie suspected that Bell didn't see it that way and wished she had prompted this subject earlier. Bell would have probably be enough of a distraction.

'So,' she replied, trying her best to placate a shy smile to her lips, 'all this time, you were thinking about me? I thought I'd never hear from you again.' She didn't have the best poker face but she hoped it would be enough to deceive Parsa.

He stared into her eyes for an uncomfortably long moment, before smiling too. 'I knew you felt it.'

'I didn't want to admit it.' Her own words revolted her. She had to keep the pretence. Just a little longer. 'I was lost.'

Parsa caressed her cheek once again and instinctively she placed her right hand on his chest. She saw his face move closer to hers and felt his breath on her lips. She knew what was coming next. Her heart beat furiously in her chest and she hoped she would be struck by a heart attack at this very instant.

She heard the ruffle noise again, louder, just behind Parsa. She saw him turn his head slightly and knew what she had to do. She grabbed his vest and pulled him forward, planting her lips on his.

She felt him resist for a second before mellowing into the kiss. Every fibre of her body screamed for her to push him away, run, break this ignominious embrace, but she closed her eyes and pulled him closer instead. She felt the blunt shape of the gun on her thigh, where his hand rested, and could tell that his grip wasn't firm. She let out a moan and the gun slid further down.

Then his head was brutally separated from hers. Ellie opened her eyes and saw that Gibbs was holding Parsa in a head lock. Instinctively, Ellie dropped her hand from his chest and grabbed the gun. But she had underestimated his grip. Parsa detached the gun from her like she was nothing.

Powerless, she saw the gun move up, turn and point at Gibbs' head.

'No!' she screamed, before launching herself at Parsa's hand.

She put all her weight into the desperate lunge and grabbed the gun again, burying it somewhere in Parsa's side. Feverishly, she searched for the trigger while he grabbed her by the hair with his other hand and let out a roar of anger. The trigger was only a few millimetres from her index.

The shot startled her. She saw Parsa's face change from rage to surprise.

'Eleanor,' he moaned.

Gibbs released his grip and Parsa's body slouched down. Ellie smelled something metallic. It took her a few seconds to realise that her hand was covered with blood. Parsa's blood.

She jerked back, still holding the gun, and this time Parsa wasn't strong enough to hold it back. His face paled rapidly.

Trembling, she stood up, her eyes fixed on the growing red stain on Parsa's abdomen. Gibbs walked around the row of seats and put a hand on her shoulder, making her jump out of her skin. He didn't say anything, but delicately pried the gun out of her hand.

She couldn't detach her eyes from Parsa. Blood was gurgling out of his wound, and she could see that some of it was also coming out of the corner of his lips. The lips that she had kissed just moments before.

'Eleanor,' he whispered again. Then, his eyes closed and the gurgling of blood stopped.

Benham Parsa was dead.

Next time: the big showdown! Is the bomb going to explode? Will Tony and Ziva get out alive? You'll know in the last chapter!

Let me know what you think :)

Thank you for reading,

Loufoca