A|N: Just trust my creative process peeps.

- Chide

"EVERYTHING"

Chapter VIII - Reunions & Leads

"My friend, what's on your mind?" Paza looked at Ziva curiously after she stopped speaking mid sentence and stared off into space.

Ziva returned her gaze back to her friend after a moment. "Something feels different."

"What do you mean?"

"Something familiar. Like Tony is getting close."

Paza smiled, "This is good, is it not?"

"Yes."

"Then why do you look so down?"

Ziva shook her head, "I do not know. Maybe it is because I have felt this before but it did not turn in my favor."

"Are you sure you don't want to try to call your friend again? He may be able to give Tony a message and even verify if he has Tali."

"I am sure McGee does not wish to speak to me or he would have answered two months ago."

"I still think you should have left a message."

"And said what?" She shook her head again, "by the time the line started ringing, I was a crying mess. He would not have understood what I was saying anyway and would have hung up thinking it was a misdial from some crazy woman."

Paza rolled her eyes, "Really? A misdial from a Paris area code to a Washington, DC number? I do not know this McGee, but I'm sure he can't be that dense. You should try again or, better yet, come to Mossad."

"If you are tired of me being here then I can go back to Paris and stay there."

"That isn't what I'm saying, Ziva. It's just, we haven't gotten anywhere with trying to track Tony and he is not having luck finding you. Then, I am still having issues with getting information about whether or not a threat still exi ..."

"Is Orli still running a covert investigation?"

"From what I have heard, yes. Why does that matter?"

"If she is still investigating then there is still a threat. It's been six months, if the threat was gone, she would have stopped looking into it."

Paza sighed, "You confuse me. Why stay hidden if Mossad can protect you?"

"You did not see that fire up close, Paza! Had Tali and I not been running behind schedule, we would both actually be dead!" She stood up and started pacing as tears sprang from her eyes. "Mossad could not protect us, even after I basically told Orli there was an attack coming!"

"Ziva", her friend remained calm, "if you do not trust Mossad, why leave Tali behind for Orli to take her?"

"Because ... I could not protect Tali either." The admission was barely audible as Ziva stopped in her tracks and looked down in shame. "When the mortar hit, we had just gone back into Tali's bedroom to get her Kalev. I had left her in the living room, right at the point of impact. Had she not followed behind me ...". She paused to take a deep breath and try to remove the mental image of what could have happened that day.

After a few moments, she continued, "I made a snap decision when a realized what was actually going on. Immediately, I knew the only way to keep Tali safe was to have enough faith that Orli would get my baby to her father. Tony has so many people in DC to help him and keep our daughter safe. It was a mistake to not tell him about her before, but ... I have to believe he has her now and is trying to make things right."

"Ziva ..."

"I have to believe", she repeated robotically. "It is all I have left."

"You're stressed. Deeply on edge. Sleep deprived. Maybe even emotionally unstable ..."

Ziva's head shot up. "Do you really want to go there with me", she hissed through her tears.

"I'm speaking honestly", Paza responded boldly. "I would not be your friend if I didn't tell you the truth. This is ridiculous, Ziva! This irrational fear of yours has you losing it. One minute you are hopeful and then you are hopeless the next. It isn't good for you to keep going on not knowing. Either you go to Mossad or you call your friend at NCIS ... if not, I will decide for you."

.

Abby and McGee had arrived to Tony's the next evening. After exchanging pleasantries and having dinner, the tension in the room could be cut like a knife. They sat in silence for the better part of the night, just watching Tali play until she finally wore herself out and fell asleep. Tony put her in her bed and returned to the living room. He was ready to say what he needed and ready to hear what they had to say.

"Okay, so let's kill this weird vibe in the air", he scratched his head nervously. "Although, what I want to tell you guys might come off pretty weird."

Abby raised an eyebrow, "Weird is sometimes good, Tony. And what we have to say is a good weird."

"Who goes first then?"

"Maybe we should go first", McGee chimed in. Tony shrugged and motioned for either of them to speak so McGee continued, "We reopened the case on Ziva. Vance has been in contact with Orli and had all of Mossad's files concerning the attack sent to us. We started ..."

"Looking for her?" Both friends looked at Tony who seemed to be unfazed by the news. Tony noticed the surprised look on their faces and spoke, "I've been trying to look for her too. Unfortunately, I don't have the right computer skills or resources. That's why I was going to reach out to you."

"So, you know she's alive?" Abby asked just above a whisper.

"I wasn't sure completely, but Ziva left me a classified file in her will to point me in the right direction. It's just hard deciphering some things. I guess she figured I'd still have the resources of NCIS at my disposal."

McGee furrowed his brow, "Tony, why didn't you say anything before?"

"Truthfully, I've been kinda scared of being wrong and scared of putting my daughter through chasing a proverbial ghost. Tali needs stability, so I can't just run her around every where trying to find leads. Her life's been shaken up enough with Ziva going into hiding. I don't want to go anywhere else with Tali until I'm sure that that place is where Ziva is. I just need to figure out where then we can pack up and go."

"Despite being scared, you sound really confident that you can find Ziva", Abby pointed out. "Have you made any progress at all?"

Tony shook his head, "A little, but not much. I've been ... Wait, why do you guys think Ziva's alive?"

"She um ... she called me two months ago but I missed the call." McGee admitted, "I tried to trace it. The number was a Paris number but the back trace didn't lock onto where the call came from specifically before the phone was disconnected. We narrowed it down to five places."

"And how do you know it was her if you missed the call?" He was sceptical but hopeful.

"Voicemail. She didn't say anything, but I heard her crying. She sounded really broken and in pain."

Tony let out a deep sigh as his heart rate sped up. He tried to keep control of his breathing as he spoke again, "I shouldn't have changed my number. She probably tried to reach out. She has to be scared."

"We'll find her Tony", Abby reassured.

"Yeah, we're here now. We can help", McGee added. "Just show us what she left you."

"One sec", Tony quickly went to his room to get the diamonds, classified file, and his laptop. When he returned, he put everything on the coffe table and explained, "I found the two diamonds in Tali's sweater, it was a clue. The file has a letter from Ziva and some papers with account numbers and diamond dealers."

"How are we supposed to track her from this?"

"Remember how she figured out Bodnar would be going to Berlin? We have to follow the diamonds and money transactions. Only thing is, I can't seem to figure out exactly how to pin point her location."

"We started trying to trace her accounts after the phone trace didn't pan out", McGee said, "But there's been no activity."

"That's because you're not looking at the right accounts." Tony pointed to one of the papers on the table, "All those accounts are offshore. I managed to narrow down three with activity but then that's when it get's confusing."

"How so", Abby asked.

"Look", Tony opened his laptop and pulled up the screen that showed one the accounts. "She pulls money from this one at the beginning of the month then returns it back within a seven day window. During the time the money is out of the account, I can't see where it goes but I do see a spike in dealer activity. Only problem, I can't pin point which dealer is associated with the account."

Abby looked at the transactions, "Did you notice there was a withdrawal that didn't go back into the account?"

He nodded and changed to another screen, "It went from that account to this one. It's been sitting there in Switzerland for a month."

"Do you think she settled in Switzerland then? If it hasn't moved, then maybe she's there."

"Doubt it, she would be using the money."

McGee pointed at another document, "This page here, it's a receipt copy from a hotel. The name looks familiar."

"Yeah it should, check the date, that's from when Ziva and I were in Berlin. That's where we stayed. I already called the hotel and checked for her name under the alias she used for the accounts. I think it was just a clue to remind me about how she tracked Bodnar."

"Maybe she's in DC", Abby shrugged. "Remember how Bodnar sent you on a wild goose chase? You got the wrong Bodnar in Berlin. It was Ilan's little brother. While Ilan had you and all the rest of the alphabet soup going all over the word, he was laying low in DC the whole time. Ziva could be doing the same thing."

"Come on Abs, why would she do that? Especially if she's trying to hide. Ziva wouldn't go back to DC."

"How can you be sure?"

"She may be hiding, but she's also trying to keep us safe. She told Orli that if anything ever happened to her, to bring Tali to me in DC. Ziva has to assume I'm still in DC and will remain there until I can come find her. She wants me to find her but, the way her note reads, she's far from DC. She told me to come save her. I don't think she would send me all over the world. She has to be in one spot. I just need to narrow it down."

"Alright, let's narrow it down then. The three active accounts are where?"

"Switzerland, Germany, and Panama."

"Germany? And you don't think she's in Berlin", McGee inquired. "Maybe she's using a different alias, Tony. We all have multiple aliases. Maybe she made a new one after leaving NCIS. Remember, she's faking her death, I doubt she'd be walking around using one of her old ones if she thinks someone is still out to get her."

"The alias on the accounts is new."

"Okay. Then maybe she isn't staying at the same hotel. Maybe there's another hotel she could have checked into. If she prepared this file before the attack then maybe the clue is that she'll be in Berlin."

"It's possible, but she also said she couldn't say where she was going which means she probably wouldn't leave a clue so obvious as to where she'd be. If that was the case, I wouldn't need to follow the diamonds and transactions."

"You've lost your touch as an investigator, Tony. This is a solid lead. Everything points to Berlin. The hotel receipt. The account. Even my trace on her cell, one of the locations we narrowed it down to was Germany."

"Fine", Tony huffed, "let's say you're right. How do we verify she's there? What, call every hotel?"

"Or we run background of the list of dealers, see which one is in Berlin", Abby offered. "You don't have the access to run background checks anymore from your laptop, but I can run it from mine."

"And I can run a check on Ziva's alias against hotel reservations", McGee added.

"Huh", Tony let out a small chuckle, "Maybe I should have called you guys sooner. Seems I've been overlooking the obvious and a little off my game."

"It's okay, we understand", McGee assured as he pulled out his laptop from his backpack.

"And you've done a lot more than you give yourself credit for, Tony. This is good work for little resources."

Tony yawned, "thanks, now what else can I do to help?"

"Get some sleep and then maybe go shave", McGee answered firmly. "I didn't want to say anything, but you look like hell."

"Hey, don't knock the beard McBabyFace! This rugged thing looks good on me", he lightly joked. And for the first time that night, they all genuinely laughed. It felt a little like old times. The only thing missing was Ziva. But, they all sensed that she'd be back in the fold soon. With new determination and focus, they'd find her. It was only a matter of time.

They're happy moment, however, was interrupted a few seconds later by a banging on the front door. Tony looked towards it suspiciously as they all immediately got quiet, "Was someone else supposed to be coming with you guys?"

"No", McGee answered as he stood up. "Maybe it's a neighbor."

"My neighbors don't bang like that, they knock politely." He turned to Abby and whispered, "Go to Tali's room and lock the door. Don't come out until I say so."

Abby quickly followed the instruction as McGee pulled his sig and his backup from his bag. He handed the backup to Tony just as the banging started again. They walked over to the door and Tony looked through the peephole but it was covered. He motioned for McGee to ready himself. After receiving a nod, Tony unlocked the door and pulled it open. Their drawn weapons lowered as soon as they realized who was on the other side.

"Orli, what the hell!?" Tony shouted angrily, "Tell your goons not to bang like that! We almost shot you!"

"Thank you for showing restraint then", Orli responded as she strolled into the apartment without waiting for an invitation to come in. "My goons, as you call them, will stay outside. You may close the door."

Tony rolled his eyes and slammed the door, "why are you here?"

"We will get to that in a moment. First, you should put the weapons away." She looked pointedly between the two men. "It is good to see you, by the way, Agent McGee."

McGee shook his head and took his backup from Tony, "I'll go get Abby."

"Ah, Ms. Sciuto is here as well?"

"They came to help me track down Ziva. Now, why are you here at this hour?"

"One moment, it is better that Agent McGee and Ms. Sciuto hear this as well." After a few minutes, McGee returned with Abby and Orli gestured for them all to sit. "It seems we have come to find a problem."

"If this is about NCIS being here to ..." McGee stopped when Orli waved her hand dismissively.

"I am well aware why you are here Agent McGee. Your director failed to mention that Ms. Sciuto would be joining you but it is fine."

"Then what's the problem", Tony asked aggressively.

"I got information from one of my officers, Ziva was in the country."

Shock hit them as silence fell over the room. Time stood still for a moment until Tony finally registered what Orli had said, "what do you mean was? Are you telling me Ziva has been in Israel this whole time!?"

"Tony, lower your voi ..."

"Answer the question!"

Orli sighed, "According to Officer Belsam, Ziva has been hiding at her house on and off since the attack. When she is not in Israel, she has been staying in Paris. So, technically, she has not been here the entire time. Apparently, Ziva left yesterday evening after she and Officer Belsam had a falling out. My officer wanted Ziva to come to Mossad and inform me that she was alive but she said that Ziva has been acting irrationally out of fear of still being a target. She fled in the middle of the night in fear that Officer Belsam would force her to come to me or contact NCIS."

"Why would Ziva run, again?"

"Unfortunately, she chose to confide in an officer who is not on the need to know list concerning the information that you have Tali and are living here. Officer Belsam does not have such clearances to be privy to any information concerning the attack or your whereabouts. Meaning, she is not one of the people who know that Trent Kort was behind the attacks and that you have already eliminated him. According to her, Ziva still feels she is a target until you find her, Tony. She does not trust anyone else. That includes Officer Belsam now as well."

"Wait", McGee interrupted, "You said Ziva left last night, why are just now coming to tell Tony?"

"I am a busy woman, Agent McGee. I was not free to speak with Paza until this evening. I came shortly after meeting with her."

"Couldn't your officer just trace Tony like we did? His name is on the lease, she could have easily found him and brought Ziva here."

Orli chuckled, "Ms. Sciuto, you and I both know that the way you tracked down Tony was not at all legal."

"Since when does Mossad care about what's legal?"

"You may have a point", Orli partly agreed. "However, Officer Belsam does not have the same skills you do at looking into private information such as lease holders in this type of high profile residence. And, as per Ziva's request, she did not go to another officer who could. We have all wasted valuable trying to go around legalities instead of just being honest with one another. Even you did not have to go through the extents you did to find Tony."

"Right", Abby scoffed, "Like you would have told us where Tony was!"

"Actually yes, if I knew you were coming to assist him, I would have. Had your director told me months ago that you were looking for Tony, instead of giving me some story about wanting to have copies of my files on the attack just to add to your casefile on Kort, then I would have simply told him that Tony was here. Needless to say, we have all made poor choices in judgement. Myself included. Now, we must pool our resources and get Ziva back."

McGee rubbed his temples and sighed, "You mentioned Paris, did she go back there?"

"I had my people check all flights that left between last night and this morning, there were no tickets booked under the alias she was using to travel. I have requested video surveillance to have it checked to see if she went but used another alias."

"I've been tracking Ziva since I left your office that day", Tony spoke up. "We just realized that all leads point to Berlin, but if she was here then we were wrong ... the alias you checked, was it 'Chaya Drobin'?"

Orli looked surprised, "No, but I know that name, where did you come up with that?"

"The file you gave me, it had account numbers. When I finally accessed them, that was the name she used for them. How do you know the name?"

"Eli ... before he and his wife split up, he had me backstop an alias for Rivka, including passports and other documentation. It was just a precaution in case anything ever happened. That was the name he gave me to use. I assumed he destroyed the information after the divorce, or definitely after Rivka passed. My assumptions must have been wrong if Ziva is using the alias now."

"Welp, you what they about when you assume", Tony snarked, "makes an ASS out of 'u' and 'me'!"

"Now is not the time to be sarcastic!"

"No, Orli! I think now is the perfect time! I'm tired of ..." He paused as Tali's cries rang out through the apartment. "Great", he sighed, "Every time Mossad is around, my daughter cries!" Tony stood from his seat but Abby stopped him.

"I'll get her back to sleep, just deal with whatever this is." Tony tried to protest but she cute him off again, "I've got her. Don't worry." Without another word she headed towards Tali's room.

After waiting to hear that Tali had stopped crying, Tony turned and glared at Orli. "You have eyes all over the world", he spoke through gritted teeth, "how have your people not seen her on your surveillance?"

"The same way we did not see her over three years ago when you figured out she was at the hospital. We simply were not looking in the right direction. Officer Belsam's home is outside of Tel Aviv, we do not exactly go looking in the countryside unless we feel there is a need. Nothing on our radar pointed in that direction."

"I wanna talk to that officer."

"She does not know anything."

Tony shook his head incredulously, "There it is! Mossad protecting its own! This woman has been harboring Ziva and now sunddenly she knows nothing!? I beg to differ! She knows plenty!"

"Tony, I have already questioned her. Ziva left everything behind. She does not want Officer Belsam involved anymore. She sees her as an enemy now too. We have to go about this a different way. Trust me, I want Ziva back as much as you do ..."

"Doubt it", McGee stated as he stood beside Tony. "NCIS has an official investigation open on tracking down Ziva David. Your officer is a material witness in the case since she was the last person to see our missing person. You, Director Elbaz, are now interfering with our investigation. Now, either you can continue to interfere and cause an international incident, or you can cooperate and set up a meeting with your officer. We can even speak here if you don't want all of Mossad knowing. Your call."

Orli smirked, "Well played Agent McGee. As you wish, I will personally bring Officer Belsam to you in the morning. Is there anything else?"

"Yeah, we get full access to your database and recourses to help us track Ziva."

"Is that all?"

"No", Tony spoke, "I need the David jet fueled and on standby by 0900 on Sunday."

"And may I ask where you are going?"

"Somewhere I promised Tali I'd take her before we left DC. My daughter deserves a break from Israel. This place only seems to upset her. She needs a vacation and Christmas is in two weeks, no better time to go away."

"I believe we're done here Director Elbaz." McGee walked to the door and opened it. Orli nodded and made her exit. When the door closed, he checked the peephole and watched the Mossad operatives follow her down the hall and onto the elevator then he turned around, "I know what you're already thinking Tony."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"You're thinking about Paris." The slight nod told McGee he was right. "Okay, but Sunday is three days from now. Ziva already has a head start if she left yesterday, how are you going to track her?"

"Same way we just did before Orli showed up and I'm not leaving Sunday, you are."

"What?"

"We'll work through tonight. Run the background checks for Berlin and Paris then pin post not dealers and hotels. You'll go to Berlin on Sunday and I'll take Tali to Paris tomorrow after we talk to the officer. If Ziva has been going back and forth between here and there, then maybe she's going back long enough to plan her next move. She's operating under fear right now, which means she's not thinking clearly. We play it to our advantage."

"So you think she'll make a mistake now?"

"I'm betting on it. With her supposed friend out of the picture, Ziva really is alone. She doesn't do well alone and scared. Maybe you were right, she could have been pointing ahead. So Berlin could possibly be the next stop. We just need to look deeper. Find a pattern then ..."

"Find the hiccup in the pattern", McGee understood as he walked back over to his laptop.

"Exactly. So, let's find the pin in the haystack."

"Needle", McGee corrected.

Tony looked at him puzzled, "what?"

McGee chuckled, "You did that Ziva thing. Messing up the idiom. You said 'pin', it's 'needle'."

"Oh", Tony scratched his head, "Guess I've got Ziva too much in the brain."

"That's a good thing. Keep your mind focused on her." He smiled at his best friend then looked across the table, "Now, pass me Abby's laptop, let's start running these checks."

"Sure, and after we get that started we call Gibbs. Can't leave the boss man out of what's going on."

McGee slapped his forehead, "Right, I was suppose to call in with a sit rep as soon I told you about the investigation."

"Now who's losing their touch Probie?"

"Hey, it was a long flight and an even longer night", he joked. "Just help me with this, sheesh!"

So, my apologies in the delay. I hope making this a long chapter made up for it ...

And, also, the fact that I'm posting back to back updates.

Anyhoo, caught up on most of my school work, in case y'all where wondering where I was. LoL

Enjoy the other updates!

- Chide