The hotel they arrived at was old and run down. It looked like it had survived a few explosions. There were four floors and the windows were all blown out and broken.
"McGee, you take 1 and 2, I've got 3 and 4," Gibbs ordered.
"Uh, what about me Boss?" Tony questioned.
"Check and see if they have a basement, DiNozzo," Gibbs had a feeling she wouldn't be in a basement, because it was too obvious. He sent Tony down there because he was a liability because of his personal feelings. If Tony acted too quickly, Ziva could be killed.
McGee sprinted down the hall checking every room. He looked into one that had a vile stench coming from the inside. He pulled out his gun and prepared for the worst. When he peered into the room, he saw three dead bodies. He assumed them to be Mossad; presumably a part of Ziva's team. He radioed his boss and let him know there were possible more intruders, and no sign of Ziva.
Gibbs was getting more agitated by the second. He took his flights of stairs, three at a time, knowing he was the one to save Ziva. He told Tim to meet him upstairs, but he kept Tony out of the loop. As he approached a room, he heard voices inside. They were speaking broken English and Gibbs managed to make out a few words; NCIS... whore... dying...
"Freeze! Federal Agent!" Gibbs cried, "Put your hands above your head where I can see them," he ordered. The men looked at him and smiled.
"We have nothing more to live for, our mission is complete," one said. He looked at the other and nodded his head slightly. They each took a small pill out of their shirt pockets and put them in their mouths. As soon as they swallowed the pills, they began to shake. Their eyes rolled back into their heads and with one final menacing laugh, they fell backwards and their lives were over.
"Shit," Gibbs cursed. He knew that the only floor Ziva could be in was the basement; where sent his unfocused agent. The building was clear, so he radioed McGee and told him to go to the basement to back Tony up.
Basement of Hotel
Ziva was coming out of her pain induced slumber, when she heard men running up and down stairs. The walls were thin and shabby and she was almost sure she heard someone say NCIS. She tried to get up but because her eyes were swollen shut and she was tied to the chair, there was no where she could go.
Tony ran down the basement stairs after he heard via the radio that the upper floors were clear. He knew he would find Ziva. His question was whether or not she was still alive. He turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs and looked into the only small room down below. There in the middle of the room, was a single chair. Sitting on that chair was Ziva. Tony's heart almost stopped because she was almost unrecognizable. Her face looked caved in, her usually silky hair was all bloody and matted, she was tied to the chair by her arms and feet and Tony could see how tight the bonds were because her upper arms and lower legs were pale from blood loss.
"Zi? Ziva can you hear me?" Tony didn't hear anything from his partner, so he pressed his two fingers against her neck to find a pulse. He found a faint heart beat, but when he brushed her neck, she groaned; she was alive!