Chapter 6: Threats, Plans, and Safety - April

From Farsoun, Ziva learned that he had been hired by a "group of enemies of Eli David" to kill Amit. The group had learned of his planned trip to the farmhouse and that Amit was assigned to get the secret files belonging to Eli. Farsoun had nothing to lose; his wife and children had been killed in a bombing ordered by Eli. The money he was to be paid by the group would be donated to an orphanage in his country.

When Farsoun learned that Amit had no such files on him, and that Ziva had no idea as to their existence let alone whereabouts, he started crying. "They will kill me," he stated sadly. "I am not to return without the files. I have thirty days to complete the assignment."

Ziva felt sympathy for the man; she understood the need for revenge. "I will help you, if you will help me," she offered. "If you cooperate, I will try to ensure that you get to safety if that is what you wish."

"I will help you; I do not want to kill you," he replied. "It is Eli David that should die."

"Have you not heard? Eli is dead; he was killed in the United States over three years ago."

"They did not tell me," Farsoun was now concerned that he had been set up. "What can I do?"

"You will report back to the group that you need more time; that you have learned that there are more files hidden in other locations. You will need to have the deadline extended to 19 May."

"Okay, but why that day?"

"Because I will be gone by then," Ziva said simply. "You can do whatever you want to the farmhouse once I leave." She moved to her safe and pulled out two of the burner phones from inside.

"Here is a burner phone; use it to call me and ONLY me. I will program the number for the other burner phone into yours. You are not to come to the house unless you check with me first," Ziva emphasized.

Farsoun nodded his agreement and looked Ziva in the eyes for the first time. As he raised his head, he noticed the toys in the corner of the living room. "You have a child." It was not a question.

"Yes; and I do not want her to know any stress or fear because of my father. Is that understood?"

He nodded again; "Yes. I cannot harm a child ever. I already have nightmares from seeing the mangled bodies of my own children." His eyes teared up at the memory.

"What languages do you speak?" Ziva asked.

"Arabic, Hebrew, English, French, German, and Spanish."

"Very good; when you call me, I will answer in one of those languages. The entire conversation for that call will be in the language I use. It will vary by call, so be prepared to speak in any of them." Ziva was glad she could use languages that Tali did not understand in case he happened to call when the little girl was nearby.

"If I need to call you, let the phone ring. Once it stops, wait ten minutes and call me back. If you do not call, I will assume that you have been disloyal to me and I will find you and kill you." Ziva hoped that situation did not arise; she really did not want to have his blood on her hands. If all went well, she would be out of the country when he carried out whatever he was assigned by the group once they learned of potential additional files.

"Now go call your handler and report about the additional files and ask for more time. Call me in four days to report back. I will have a plan in place that we will execute to assure my daughter's and my safety and your freedom. Understood?" Ziva needed some time to make a plan that would give her the chance to leave for the US.

"Yes." He left her with the assurance that he would call in four days.

Ziva retrieved Tali from Doda Nettie's house and packed bags for the two of them to head to the Haifa house for the four days. She would not stay where she was a sure target while she waited to see if Farsoun kept his side of the deal.

In Haifa, she met with Adam while Tali was napping. She explained her plan for Adam to take Tali to Orli who would then take the little girl to her father in the States if Ziva felt any threat to the child's life was imminent. She gave him a duress code that she would use to contact him should they need to execute her plan. Adam knew better than to question Ziva as she explained the plan; she would share what she wanted him to know and nothing else. He agreed and added that he hoped that plan would not be needed.

Farsoun called as they had agreed and informed Ziva that the group had given him until 15 May to get all of the known files to them. He said that they had not said anything about her so he had not asked. The group's sole focus was obtaining the files.

After her call with Farsoun, she contacted Orli to arrange a meeting at Mossad headquarters. Ziva would leave Tali with Nettie to go meet with the Mossad director. Orli agreed to a meeting after Pesach. Ziva had hoped to make it sooner, but she had to go with what the Mossad director suggested. She did not want to sound too urgent in her request and raise the woman's suspicions.

While she waited for the end of the month, she put more of her plan into place, contacting Farsoun twice for updates and laying out her plan to him. She had Zevi expedite an Israeli passport for Tali to travel to the States and obtained certified copies of the baby's birth certificate to take with her when they left. She also contacted her banks in Israel and in DC and authorized access to the accounts for Tony. She explained that he would be available in May to sign any needed documents when he returned from an undercover mission.

Ziva accessed the deposit box at the Tel Aviv bank and took two of her fake IDs and passports for use if needed; if she didn't need them, she would destroy the documents before she arrived at Dulles. All of her planning would be in vain if Farsoun was unable to keep his end of the deal. She had told him that once she left, he could do whatever he needed to search the farmhouse and any documents that were found would go to the group that hired him.

While she was laying her plans in place, she tried diligently to maintain a normal day to day routine for Tali. Ziva knew that if she stressed, Tali would react and become clingy. The last thing Ziva needed was others noticing a change in either her or Tali because of the threats that only Ziva and Farsoun knew about.

Finally the day of her meeting with Orli came around. She dropped Tali at Nettie's house, explaining to her aunt that she had some important errands to complete in Tel Aviv. Nettie, as always, was thrilled to have her grandniece visit and told Ziva to take as much time as she needed.

At Mossad headquarters, Ziva was given updates by Orli before she even got to explain her emergency plan to the woman. Apparently Jacob Scott had escaped from prison and was on a killing spree. Orli wanted to put Ziva and Tali in protective custody, but Ziva adamantly refused.

"I have tickets for Tali and me to fly to DC on 20 May. We will be gone in less than three weeks. I will not have her life disrupted unless absolutely necessary. I want things to be as normal as possible until we leave. She will be stressed enough flying to a country she has never seen and being around people she has never met. Let me at least give her a normal routine here," Ziva pleaded.

"Besides, I have an emergency plan that I need to brief you. If something should happen, I will get Tali to Adam Eschel. She is comfortable with him and will not be too upset if I leave her with him. He will get her to you. I want you to take her to her father immediately. She will have a go bag with any documents you will need to travel with her. I will also make sure there are some of her favorite toys and books to help keep her quiet on the trip to DC." Ziva hoped that Orli would agree to her emergency plan.

"I will agree, Ziva, on one condition."

"And that is?"

"That you will promise me that you will do everything you can to make a family for Tali with her father."

"I cannot make that promise; I cannot speak for Tony. I do not know if he will want me in his life. I have hurt him too much," Ziva fought back the tears that were forming. She would not cry; it was her most fervent wish that the three of them would be a family, but she did not know if Tony had moved on or how he would react to the news that he had a child; that THEY had a child. "I will promise that I will try…"

"Oh, Ziva!" Orli drew the younger woman into a hug. "Do you not see that he will love you no matter what? I saw that when he was looking for you in the summer of 2013. His love for you is unconditional; he is your soul mate."