They laid in wait for Liat in an old warehouse. Ziva was across the room; before she'd hidden herself, she had given Ellie an earpiece.

"Remember, Malachi will lure her here. Your job is to get her to the light in the middle," Ziva was saying quietly. "That will be my chance."

"I remember." They waited in silence for a few minutes before Ziva asked,

"Why do you say that you are not indispensable to anyone?"

Ellie sighed. "My ex-husband cheated on me, and now I'm alone. I have family, but my parents have my two brothers. They'd be all right if I was gone."

"I doubt that."

"I wouldn't be here if I doubted it."

"You have the team. You must care a lot about them, to put yourself in harm's way to protect them."

Ellie laughed bitterly. "I'm not you."

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone says it. I hear it behind my back every day. 'Ellie's okay,' they say, 'but she's no Ziva.' I love Gibbs, Tony, Tim. I know they'd put themselves on the line for me – they have, many times. But I know I'm not you. I don't have the same – prominence – in their lives that you do."

"Give it time, Ellie. You know the story of how I arrived at NCIS, right?"

"Your brother."

"Yes. Everyone on the team viewed me with open suspicion for months. I had to prove myself over and over. After they accepted that I did not agree with Ari, it took quite some time for them to accept me as a person. You may think they do not need you, but I can tell that they do, just as much as you need them."

A door opened; Ziva and Ellie were instantly silent. From her position behind a stack of crates, Ellie could just barely see Liat in the dim light. The Israeli crept towards the light in the middle of the room, making no sound on the concrete floor.

Ellie took a deep breath, drew her weapon from her belt, and stepped out into the open. "Hello, Liat."

Liat stopped just short of the light. Ellie cursed inwardly. "An American - I thought so. You must be from NCIS. What, they couldn't spare DiNozzo?"

"He's a little busy, taking care of the two-year-old you almost killed."

Liat grinned. "Oh, calm down, Special Agent. You know it wasn't personal."

"It was money," Ellie said, holding Liat's gaze steadily. "You sold out your country for money."

"Once I finish this job, it will all be worth it." Liat began to pace around Ellie, carefully keeping out of the light. "I assume you didn't come alone, so let me tell you your options, little girl. You tell Ziva to come out, and I probably won't kill you."

"Your promises mean nothing to me," Ellie retorted. "All it will take is another payment for you to break that promise."

Liat laughed. "Okay, then. If you want a fight, you can have one." Quicker than a snake, she lunged, knocking Ellie's gun from her hand and putting a strong arm around her throat. "Oh, Ziva," she called teasingly. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Ellie's mind was racing. She'd told Ziva not to hesitate if she had a shot, regardless of whether Ellie was in the way. But since Ziva hadn't pulled the trigger yet, she was obviously ignoring that instruction. "Zi-va," Ellie gasped. Liat tightened her grip on her throat.

"Hush, little girl. Mama of the Year will be here to save you soon."

Ellie saw Ziva approaching through the crates and knew they were about to lose their chance. Desperately, she stomped as hard as she could on Liat's foot. Liat's grip faltered, and Ellie tore herself free. Liat growled with frustration and shot at Ellie. Ellie was too slow; she felt the bullet rip into her side from behind. She stumbled forward, falling onto the concrete. She heard another shot ring out before everything went black.


One chapter left! Thanks to everyone for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing! I'm glad you're all enjoying this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it.