Disclaimer is back in Chapter 1.
A/N : I do apologize for the lengthy delay in updating this story…and my other ongoing multiple-chapter stories. I experienced a serious case of writers block with them…probably due to taking on too many stories at once. I opted to commit to finishing one of them (Stargate : SG1 – "How the Other Half Lives") before re-focusing my efforts on these uncompleted stories. I hope the story will continue to hold your interest and my goal is to have this one wrapped up before I leave on a business trip next week.
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Chapter 16
Gibbs found the coffee shop with ease. Finding a parking spot, on the other hand, wasn't so easy. He contemplated dropping Ziva off and letting her find Roxane on her own. Selfishly, he didn't want that…he wanted to see his partner's friend again…but if the day progressed well, he'd see her later that day.
He pulled over alongside some already parked cars.
"Out." He said.
Ziva looked at Gibbs, confused.
"Go find Roxane. She's got the report. I'll circle the block. We're wasting time trying to find a damned parking spot. Get the report and we'll head back to the office to analyze it."
"Sure." Ziva hopped out of the car and watched as her boss merged back in with traffic.
The brunette entered the coffee shop and quickly spotted her friend.
Roxane waved her over, confusion clouding her eyes.
"Gibbs?"
"Circling…no parking at this time of day."
Roxane nodded.
"I should have thought of that. I managed to find one, but luck had a customer leaving just as I was coming in." The blonde woman pushed a small stack of papers towards Ziva. "Here's the report on uploads and downloads on all coding of the software. I hope it's helpful."
"I'm sure McGee can do something with it." Ziva assured her friend, taking the papers.
"Um, Ziva, can I ask you something?"
Ziva nodded.
"What the heck do you see in Tony?"
"Pardon me?" Ziva blinked.
"It's obvious, from the time we talk, that you see something in him…but…" Roxane frowned.
"I've seen him care. I've seen him want to make the world better." Ziva paused. "He just displays himself differently to the world than I do."
"Jealous?" Roxane prodded.
Ziva shrugged.
"I am who I am." The Mossad agent declared. "No regrets in life, or so a friend once told me."
Roxane smiled.
"No regrets." Blue eyes turned solemn. "For right or for wrong, we make our choices based on what we know at the time. There is no point in second guessing…no point in having regrets."
"Life is too short." Ziva confirmed.
"I know about Ari, my friend." Roxane reached out and covered Ziva's hands with her own. "No regrets."
"I know that. I keep telling myself that." Ziva replied. "But I can still be angry at him for taking away my choice. I had but one option."
"No…there are always at least two…you reminded me of that at the train station. You had the choice to stop him or let him proceed."
"I need to go. Gibbs should be coming back this way soon."
"Give him a hug for me." Roxane grinned.
Ziva blinked.
"I'm kidding, Ziva!" The blonde woman shook her head in disbelief. "You need to lighten up…maybe you should spend more time with Tony."
"I do that and he'll spend all of it trying to figure out my bra size." Ziva mused.
"I'm sure he's already figured that part out, my friend." Roxane chuckled. "Right now, he's trying to figure out if you're lace, satin, or plain cotton."
"So is Payette."
"Ah, she made a pass at you…don't take it seriously. Her hormones would give DiNozzo's a run for their money."
Ziva sighed at the concept and stood up.
"Thank you for the report."
"Welcome." Roxane nodded. "Umm…has anyone told Captain Reed's wife?"
"It's on our 'To Do' list." Ziva said and turned to leave.
"Hey, these are for you. One coffee, black, for Gibbs. And a lovely assam tea for you…a touch of honey." Roxane motioned towards two hot beverage cups on the table.
"Thank you again."
"My pleasure. Best of luck, my friend, and please call if you need anything else."
Ziva nodded and left the coffee shop. Just as she exited, she spotted Gibbs approaching.
She entered the car smoothly and quickly, allowing Gibbs to merge back into the flow of vehicles.
"One report for the team, one coffee for you and one tea for me…all courtesy of Roxane."
Gibbs nodded.
"We'll let McGee take a stab at the report." Gibbs reached down and took a sip of the coffee. "Hmm…not bad."
"High praise, coming from you."
Gibbs shot a look at Ziva, but rode back to the office in silence.
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"McGee!" Gibbs dropped the stack of papers on the young agent's desk. "Analyze this and find anything that will give us an idea about what the flow of information was on the software. I want to know if anyone could have taken a copy out of Intel Initiatives."
"On it, boss!" McGee grabbed the papers and started to analyze them.
"Where's DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.
"Down with Ducky seeing if anything else came up during the examination." McGee said without looking up from the papers.
Gibbs nodded, inwardly pleased at the other agent's initiative.
"What about the wife, Gibbs?" Ziva asked.
"What about her?"
"Shouldn't we tell her? I mean, won't she be trying to contact her husband?"
Gibbs frowned.
"Call her up Ziva, but don't tell her he's dead."
"Why not?"
"She could be a suspect."
"Why would she be involved in technical espionage?"
Gibbs sighed.
"I'm not saying she is. But if Reed's coworkers knew he had an active social life, odds are she did as well. Wives tend to know about these things…trust me. Maybe she had enough. Find out what she knows."
Ziva nodded and slowly walked back to her desk. This was not a phone conversation she was looking forward to.