Thank You all so much for taking the time to review! In this chapter the team is shocked when they learn something about Asir...
This time Abby met them at the elevator doors. "I know where they are! Well, not exactly, not yet, but I know where these guys live. They all live in, or near, Haifa. We've been able to narrow down our search area."
"You can narrow it down some more, with the information Tony's got for you from the second video." Gibbs said. Abby's face fell at the mention of the second video. "Is she, ok?"
Tim spoke first. "Ducky seems to think so, but this time they hurt her pretty badly. They found out that she sent us a message, and they" he trailed off, and looked to Tony for support. Tony took a deep breath and described what happened as if he were describing one of the many crime scenes he'd worked on. Gibbs was right; it really was easier to think that way.
"They took her left hand, laid it out on a table and smashed each bone with a hammer." Abby ran to him and they hugged each other tight. She looked up at him and the look of grief on her face brought it all back to him. When he continued, his voice shook with impotent rage and pain.
"They broke every bone in her hand, and she cried. Abby, they made Ziva cry."
"Oh Tony" she whispered. "We'll get her back." She stepped back to her computer and repeated her statement louder and with more assurance. "We'll get her back. And we will kill the bastards who hurt her."
Tony nodded, almost absently. He was thinking. He had described it to Abby as a crime scene and it got him thinking about it like crime scene. Gibbs noticed right away. "What's on your mind, DiNozzo?"
Tony looked at him and said "I was thinking that Asir knows too much about us. Some of the things he said to Ziva on the video. He shouldn't know those things unless she told him, and I don't think she's said anything."
He looked at each member of his team. "How does he know that I call myself "very special agent"? How does he know that we call McGee "Probie"? How does he know we would be watching the video in 'Abby's' lab?" He stood up and paced in frustration. "For god's sake, he called Dr. Mallard, Ducky. No one does that but us."
Abby started at this information. "Was this on the new video? I need to see it."
Tony was right. This guy knew way too much about them. He had toyed with the hammer for a while before starting to hit her with it. They knew that this was an attempt to intimidate Ziva, but he had talked the entire time.
The first thing that struck them as odd was when he'd smiled at her before he started hitting her and said "I can just see them now, gathering together in Abby's lab to watch. Who do you think will cry first? Gibbs?" Ziva glared at him across the table. "No, he doesn't cry, does he? DiNozzo?" Ziva looked away. "No, he's too much like Gibbs." He leaned forward. "How about McGee?" he asked and nodded to himself "Yes, the Probie will cry for you, won't he?"
He had taken many small breaks from hitting her hand with the hammer. These breaks were intended to prolong her suffering and give her false hope that he was finished. During one of these he had said "I hope that your partner, "Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo", is enjoying this little film as much as the first. He's quite the critic, isn't he?"
After he finished, he'd laid down the hammer and whispered in her ear, the camera mic just barely picking up the sound, "Don't worry, little one. I'm sure that Ducky will be able to reassure your friends that you haven't sustained any life-threatening injuries, so far."
At this point, Abby stopped the video and said, shamefacedly, "I've seen Asir before. He's been here before." She started pulling up information on her computer. "It was a long time ago, before Ziva came. He didn't go by that name, he went by… Gotcha! Here he is."
They watched the plasma screen in shock as Asir entered NCIS, passed through security, got off the elevator at their floor and walked around the empty squad room.
"He's taking PICTURES of my squad room. Why the hell didn't anyone catch this guy?" demanded Gibbs.
Abby said quietly "It gets worse, Gibbs." She paused "He had clearance to enter my lab. I talked to him. He was going to be the Mossad Liaison Officer and he needed an ID."
She turned her back to them and said "I should have…"
McGee stopped her "It's not your fault, Abs. You met this guy 4 years ago, under a different name, for what 5 minutes? There's no way you could have…"
This time Abby stopped him "It was more like 2 hours, McGee. I toured him all over the building, introduced him to Ducky, Tony, Kate, you. We even ran into Director Sheppard; everyone but Gibbs."
"What the hell was he doing here? Ziva got the liaison position, not him." Gibbs was infuriated. This asshole had come into his home, as close to home as it got for him anyway, and taken information on his team back to Mossad. Mossad was supposed to be an ally. They had never had the most trusting of relationships, but he couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going on.
He headed for the elevator. "Find her. Now." He got in, and before the doors closed, he yelled "McGee, DiNozzo, we're on a plane at 18:00." The doors shut and an obviously confused McGee said "That's like, an hour from now. We don't even know where we're going yet." He hesitated and glanced questioningly at Tony. "Do we?"
Tony answered quietly, but confidently "Gibbs is going to talk to Sec Nav." His jaw eyes narrowed and Tim, seeing the look of rage that flashed across his face, took an involuntary step back from his friend as Tony continued. "That bastard's been hiding something from us." He glanced back at the others in the room and continued. "He better be glad that Gibbs isn't letting me any where near him right now.
"Ok" said Tim, soothingly and looking for a way to change the subject asked once again. "But we're getting on a plane and we don't know where we're even going."
This time, when Tony answered, his face showed only a fierce concentration. "We're going to go get Ziva."
"I'll figure out where she is by 18:00 then" Abby stated, matter-of-factly. She was happy that things were moving forward. They were going to save Ziva! She just needed to enter the new information into the program she and McGee had written and find her; fast.
I can't wait for the confrontation between Gibbs and the Sec Nav. and I'm toying with letting Tony get a piece of him too. (They are right by the way. He does know more than he's letting on.)
What do you think? Please review and let me know. (Gibbs vs Sec Nav or Tony AND Gibbs vs Sec Nav.)
The next chapter is longer and we get to see how Ziva is doing... poor thing.