Chapter Seventeen
Gibbs released a harsh curse and ordered, "Find him! He can't have gone far."
"On it," DiNozzo said automatically, jerking his head so Ziva would follow him. As they rounded the corner, he heard the silver-haired fox ask, "McGee, do you have a fix on Nixon?"
"Well, I can check and see if his cell phone is on," the computer geek said hesitantly. "The GPS on his phone would—"
"Do it." Gibbs' voice was tight and clipped as he issued the command. "And McGee, do it in Abby's lab. I want her helping you."
Not surprisingly, that sounded dirty in so many ways to Tony. He almost smiled but didn't when Ziva Gibbs-slapped him. She growled, "Get your mind out of the gutter, DiNozzo."
He retorted, "If you ever Gibbs-slap me again, David, I will—"
"Hey, I was following orders that first time." She smirked evilly. "Besides, I can read your mind, remember?"
Before he could reply, she had grabbed his hand and was pulling him behind her down the corridor.
...
Meghan cast a worried glance to her right at the gray-black wolf padding beside her. Kort was usually silent, but lately he hadn't been communicating much at all. She was about to ask what was wrong when she heard twigs cracking on the path in front of her (the two wolves were in Rock Creek Park). The russet-colored she-wolf swept her tail to the side, blocking her mate from going any further. She tensed and crouched, prepared to spring on her unknown enemy.
Kort asked, What's wrong?
I heard something, she thought back.
He tilted his head. I don't—
Before he could finish the sentence, a little six-year-old girl came tearing around the corner, sending dead leaves flying in her wake. She saw the two wolves and her eyes widened. "Doggies!"
Doggies? Meghan complained silently. That's just insulting. Do I look like a dog to you?
Why don't you roll over and we'll see? Kort teased as the girl came scrambling towards them with her hands outstretched. He stepped aside then scrabbled up a nearby bank, leaving Meghan to fend for herself.
Thanks for your help, she grumbled.
You're welcome.
Meanwhile, the girl was coming closer. Nervously, Meghan crouched low, a soft whine pouring from her throat. She really didn't want to hurt the kid unless absolutely necessary. Slinking away or snapping her jaws to scare her off didn't seem like good options, so she had to tolerate the girl's hands running through her fur. The scratching actually felt good, and there was an itch at the base of her tail. . . .
Then the girl's mother rounded the corner. She yelped when she saw her daughter petting a wolf as if it was a tame dog. "Get away from there!"
"Why?" the six-year-old pouted.
"That's not a dog."
"But she's so sweet. Can we keep her?"
Meghan could hear Kort laughing in her mind. Shut up, she snarled silently.
"Sweetie, it's a wild animal. Come on, let's go." She took the girl's hand, and mother and daughter walked down the path. The girl looked back over her shoulder and waved. "Bye-bye, doggie!"
Once they were gone, Kort sent stones and fallen leaves ahead of him as he slid down the slope. Shaking the dust out of his fur, he thought gleefully, I can't wait to hear what Tony and Ziva have to say about this.
Meghan flicked his nose with her tail. Let's just get back to the Navy Yard. I told Ziva we'd be heading back soon anyway.
Ladies first. Trent fell in beside her as they loped the way back they'd come to his car.
...
Tony and Ziva rounded the turn to find it empty. Or so they thought. There was a flicker of movement near the end of the corridor, close to the elevator. Ziva's enhanced hearing and eyesight picked up the sound of the elevator doors opening and the black-clad form of the suspect slipping through. He's going to the parking lot, she realized. The Israeli Shifter started sprinting again, Tony stumbling behind her before he, too, ran to catch up. Her inner wolf was stirring, excited at the prospect of a hunt—of a kill.
"Ziva, control your wolf," she heard DiNozzo warn.
Somehow, she did, though she had to fight a little. Her beast, much like her, hated to be restrained.
Both of them skidded to a halt just as the elevator doors started to close. Horror shimmied down Ziva's spine when she saw that Keane, instead of going up to the car park, was heading down.
"We're screwed," she muttered. "He's going to the evidence garage."
"There's another way down there," Tony said. "Come on!"
He took off, Ziva alongside him. They ignored the curious looks they were receiving from other agents and personnel.
...
The Mossad liaison eyed the ancient-looking stairway in disgust. "You're joking. Since when are there secret passageways in this building?"
Tony paused for a second, thinking. "Good question. Now, come on." The movie-loving agent ducked down as the entered the little room so his head didn't graze the ceiling. With a cautious glance around to make sure they were alone, Ziva followed.
It didn't take long for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. There were cobwebs all over the place and the old wooden stairs creaked, but that couldn't be helped. When another panel in the wall slid open to reveal Evidence Lockup, Ziva said in surprise, "Now we know how Gibbs gets around so fast."
"And this is probably how Keane got in," DiNozzo added. He stepped through, glancing around. "Careful, Ziva. He could be—"
Tony was cut off as a low, warning growl reverberated through the room. Brown eyes narrowed, Ziva watched, hidden, as her partner dropped and rolled, successfully avoiding the large black wolf as it leaped for him. As he rolled, he was removing his clothes, preparing to shift. Before he could, the other male Shifter was pouncing again, forepaws extended.
No! Quickly, Ziva began shedding her own clothes, making sure she stayed hidden. Then she transformed and, moving quietly, snuck up behind the two of them. The Israeli dropped into a crouch, muscles tense, and sprang, bowling over the green-eyed black wolf for the second time that Halloween. Her distraction gave Tony the opportunity to morph, and soon the medium-brown wolf was joining the battle.
Keane didn't stand a chance two-against-one, but desperation made him a vicious fighter. Somehow he knocked DiNozzo's paws out from under him, leaving the NCIS agent helpless. When his jaws closed around Tony's fur-covered throat, Ziva lunged for the midnight-colored wolf again. The hind paw lashing out stunned her momentarily, but she recovered quickly. All she knew was that she had to release Keane's suffocating hold on Tony. If she didn't, he would die. After all, they didn't have Gibbs's permission.
Ziva bit down hard on Ethan's tail, causing him to yelp with pain and release Tony. The furious wolf turned on her, snarling, completely forgetting about the recovering DiNozzo. Unleashing a low howl of rage, he leaped for the crouching she-wolf.
It was his fatal mistake.
Immediately Ziva sprang up from the floor, her jaws latching onto his throat. She ignored the fresh wave of pain as his claws raked her shoulders. Besides, his blows were steadily growing weaker as she tightened her hold, crushing his windpipe.
She tasted blood and, forcing her jaws apart, stepped back. If she'd nicked his carotid artery, he would bleed to death within seconds—and, knowing anatomy, she knew she had. It helped that, in death, Keane reverted back to human form.
A hand rested on her shoulder, making her whirl around, teeth bared.
DiNozzo, back in human form and fully dressed, jerked his hand away from those snapping jaws. "Ziva, cool it! It's just me. You can shift back now."
Her brown eyes narrowed at him before she slunk away to where she'd stashed her clothes. A minute later she reappeared, clothed, and saw Tony was on the phone.
"Gibbs, we found Keane in Evidence Lockup. You might want to bring Ducky," he said tersely before hanging up. He turned to Ziva, arms out questioningly, head tilted to the side.
She took a step toward him—and snatched his phone out of his hand.
"Hey!"
She scrolled through his contacts and then looked up in surprise. "You have Meghan's phone number but not Kort's?" The Mossad officer pressed Send anyway, smiling slightly at Tony's indignant outraged look.
"Who are you and how did you get this number?" was the first thing Ziva heard on Volkov's end of the line. All she said in response was, "It's Ziva."
"Oh. I'm guessing you're using Agent DiNozzo's cell."
"Yes, but this isn't a friendly call." At the tense silence, she knew she had the other she-wolf's interest. "Keane's dead. We—Tony and I—had to fight to defend ourselves and I killed him. You and Kort can go home."
"You know this isn't over," the auburn-haired Russian warned.
"I know," Ziva replied, but Meghan had already hung up. The Israeli turned back to Tony, intending to return the cell phone, and saw he was pulling Keane's clothes back on the corpse. Although they were violating protocol, neither agent could leave him like that. Pocketing the phone, she helped her—partner? mate?—with the gruesome task. When they were done, she handed him his phone—and stepped closer. Understanding what she needed, his hands slipped around to her back, holding her, comforting her.
"He would have killed you," she whispered. "I had to do it." Although she had been trained by Mossad to be a killer, as a Shifter—who respected life—she hated it. Even an enemy was killed with regret.
"I know," Tony soothed, "but I'm glad you did. Besides"—he smiled a little—"I don't have Gibbs's permission to die."
That elicited a laugh from her before she cut it off and snuggled up against him, resting her head on his shoulder.
They were still in that position when McGee, Gibbs, Abby, Palmer, and Ducky arrived two minutes later.
I don't suppose singing "ding dong, the witch is dead" wouldn't be inappropiate? And there's a little Tiva moment for you guys. Let me know what you think.
~~ Brambleshadow
