Chapter 5: Trouble is Brewing - March

Ziva could not shake the unsettled feeling for almost a week. She was constantly checking the house and the area surrounding it; every little sound heightened her senses. Tali picked up on her Ima's tension and became clingy and needy of her mother's attention. At night, Ziva slept with a gun under her pillow; something she had not done in many years.

Adam, Zevi, and Orli all contacted Ziva, independently, about new chatter and inquiries about Eli and his assets. Orli mentioned former MI-6 operative Jacob Scott; Ziva had never heard of the man. Apparently Eli had played a part in the conviction of Scott as a traitor who sold sensitive information to the Soviets. Zevi informed Ziva about several groups associated with Hezbollah, Hamas, or South American cartels that had been putting out feelers about Eli. Many of the feelers were directed towards mercenaries and assassins for hire. Adam had uncovered internal searches on Eli's cases as a Mossad agent and several on his properties and holdings in Israel and links to Trent Kort, former CIA operative.

All of the new information only served to worry Ziva further. She was very glad she had purchased the tickets to DC and vowed to continue her plan to return to her NCIS family. Every person who passed her on the street, every vehicle that was near her on the road, and every Mossad agent who patrolled her property was suspect in her mind. She didn't know who could be acting with less than the safety of herself and Tali in mind.

One afternoon in late March, she had taken Tali to Nettie's house again so that she could run some errands in Tel Aviv. She had started moving assets to banks around the world, including a deposit to her DC account. After she left the bank, a vehicle followed her for several blocks. She tried evasive maneuvers to no avail. When she finally stopped in the parking lot of a supermarket, the vehicle had sped away. She did get the tag information, which she relayed to Adam.

At home, she spotted an unfamiliar car on the side of the road just before the driveway to the farmhouse. She put her handgun on the seat next to her, and checked her knives that were tucked into pockets of her cargo pants. She hated that her world had come full circle, but if becoming a warrior again was what she needed to do to protect her daughter, so be it. She would even kill again if that's what it took to ensure Tali's safety and well-being.

She parked her car in front of the house; her weapons at the ready as she stepped onto the front porch. She opened the door and noticed a person sitting on her sofa.

"Identify yourself!" her gun was aimed at the head. As the individual slowly stood and then turned, Ziva drew a sharp breath in. "Amit? What are you doing here?"

Her father's oldest friend and most trusted confidante sighed, "I came to warn you, Ziva. Your life is in danger. There are still many enemies of your father who would wish you harm or even death. You must flee and become invisible. It is the only way to save yourself now."

She motioned for him to sit again and moved over to face the man. "What do you know? Who sent you?"

"I cannot tell you who sent me, but I do know that there will be a price on your life very soon if not already. Do not ask me for more information; I cannot give you anything more. Ziva, as your friend, I implore you to go now. I have transportation out of the country for you if you will go with me. We must leave within the hour."

Ziva realized as he was talking that Amit did not know about Tali. She could not just leave her child to go with him, even if it meant dealing with more threats from her father's enemies. She would NOT abandon her daughter at any cost. She shook her head, "No, I cannot leave with you. Please, tell me what you know." She bored into his gaze with her eyes, pleading for anything he could tell her that might be useful.

"I cannot; they will kill me." He got up to leave, "Come with me, Ziva."

"No, it is not possible."

He turned and left quickly at her response. She watched him stride purposefully down the driveway to his vehicle. When he reached the turn towards the road, shots rang out and he dropped to the ground. Ziva moved to the gun cabinet and removed several weapons and ammo. She loaded the three semi-automatic rifles and checked the cartridge of her handgun. She slung one of the rifles over her shoulder and carried the other two, one in each hand; her handgun was tucked in her pocket on the left side.

She moved cautiously towards the back door, sliding out quietly. She scanned the yard and olive grove for possible movement or threats. Seeing none, she moved stealthily along the side of the house, coming around to the front yard. Amit's body was still visible in the driveway. She watched for at least fifteen minutes, wondering where the Mossad protection detail could be. Surely they had heard the shots and reacted. She was about to move towards the driveway when she spotted a lone figure in the trees.

As she watched, the man moved towards the body of her father's confidante. She was sure Amit was dead; he had been hit at least five times while she watched. The man did not seem to be aware that she was watching, which would work in her favor. She quickly moved into the tree line along the driveway and paralleled the man's walk to the turn in the driveway.

He turned Amit's body over, and felt for a pulse on the man's neck. He patted Amit's clothing appearing to look for weapons or maybe a phone. Ziva waited until he was bent over and raised her rifle, aiming it at his head.

"Put your hands on the back of your head and stand up slowly," she stepped out of the tree line. "If you do not cooperate, I will not hesitate to take your life." She really did not want to use that option before she grilled the man for any information she could use.

He did as she requested, slowly standing with his hands behind his head. She directed him to turn to face her, which he did.

"Who are you?" she was now close enough to see the fear in his eyes. "Why are you here?"

He said nothing, but could not maintain eye contact. He looked at the ground at her feet. Ziva asked again for answers. He still said nothing.

"I will ask one more time, and if you do not respond, I will shoot you in the knee," time to play hardball as Tony would say. She pushed the thought of Tony from her mind; she could not afford the distraction at the minute.

"I am Farsoun," the man replied.