Thanks so much for your kind comments – I'm glad people are enjoying this story so I'll keep on writing! And, as a thank you, a special surprise – TWO chapters today!
Broken Silence, Chapter 2 - Bruised
Previously...One month after Ziva's rescue, Team Gibbs is seemingly back to normal though each team member is silently dealing with their own regrets and guilt regarding Ziva. Tony and Ziva investigate a crime scene, where a third marine has been killed with the same MO as two previous murders. While investigating, they are overpowered and Ziva has severe flashbacks of her time in Somalia, leaving Tony to wonder whether she's really ok.
Gibbs paced the burning sidewalk outside of the abandoned warehouse, where just moments ago Tony and Ziva had been overpowered, tied up, and nearly killed.
"WHY didn't ya call for backup, DiNozo?" Barked Gibbs, furious that his agents had placed themselves in a situation they almost didn't come out of.
"Boss, for all we knew it could've been a cat. I was actually telling Ziva that right before I fell down a flight of stairs and..." He was interrupted by a slap on the back of his head.
"We have two crime scenes to work. Either of you need to get checked out?" He looked pointedly at each agent.
"I am fine," replied Ziva, who had wiped away the last of the nosebleed and was now sporting the beginnings of a harsh bruise across her nose and left eye.
"No x-rays?"
"Bruised, not broken."
"DiNozzo?" The boss turned to his other agent.
"It might not hurt to take the afternoon off for some RICE. You know boss, Rest, Ice, Compression..." Tony caught Gibb's glare. "But I'm fine. Ready to go."
"Good. Take the evidence back to Abby. Find out everything you can. Vance'll be breathin' down my neck 'till we know whether he's our guy."
As Gibbs walked toward McGee and the crime scene, Ziva headed in the opposite direction toward their government issued car. Tony jogged a bit to catch up; he needed to talk to her. He placed a hand on her arm.
"Hey, Ziva."
She flipped, into pure survival mode. Twisting his arm, she had him in a headlock in mere seconds, before realizing that it was just….Tony.
She released him. Stunned, Tony backed away a step, rubbing his neck where her arms had been. He saw a flash of fear and then shame across her eyes, but she held his gaze, daring him to question her.
So he did. He took a step closer, so close that she could hear his whisper, their faces inches apart.
"Ziva, why did you call me Saleem?"
She gave him a hard look before turning on her heel. "I do not know what you are talking about."
Later that afternoon…
Gibbs strode into the office, tailed closely by McGee. They had just finished processing the two crime scenes at the warehouse.
"What've ya got?" he asked.
Tony jumped out of his seat, flicking images onto the large screen. "Rob Bayliss. 35, an electrician. His gun matches the bullets we found in Petty Officer Lyons at the first crime scene at the warehouse – both the shot in the face and in the chest. Abby is in the process of matching the bullets to the other two dead marines."
"Connection between Bayliss and Lyons?" Questioned Gibbs.
Ziva, still sitting at her desk, was staring at the screen but didn't appear to be listening.
"Ziva, want to help me out here?" Tony prompted.
The three men turned toward her. She continued to stare through the screen, clearly oblivious to the dialogue around her.
"Ziva!" Tony said again, a bit louder this time.
She startled for a moment, and then shook her head, clearing the fog and the daze. "We've gone through bank records, phone logs, travel. There is no apparent connection between Petty Officer Lyons and Bayliss."
"Find one."
"You know, boss," Tony started, as Gibbs took two long strides to his desk. "I'm pretty sure this guy is the marine killer. I think you can tell Vance..."
"We don't have enough evidence, Tony. For all we know he was in the wrong place at the wrong time," countered McGee.
"Shut it," replied Tony, before turning back to the boss. "C'mon. Why else would he be hanging out in a deserted warehouse with a dead body, holding the gun that shot the guy?"
"That's what you're gonna find out," inserted Gibbs, as he flipped through files on his desk and began checking voicemail.
"That would be nice, to see Tony do something for once," McGee pleasantly said.
Tony turned toward him, glaring. "I'm sorry, I was too busy solving the case to hear you. What did you say, you finally lost your virginity last night?"
"Hey, well at least I don't go around jumping to conclusions and unnecessarily shooting people in the process."
A wave of anger crossed Tony's face as he dashed across the bullpen toward McGee. "He was about to kill me, ok. Or would you rather I have died instead of Rivkin?"
McGee rose to meet Tony's eye level. "Well, she probably wouldn't have left if..."
"ENOUGH," yelled Gibbs as he crossed the room to stand between Tony and McGee. Tony glanced over at Ziva. Her eyes were darting back and forth between the men as if she was unsure whether to cower in the corner or prepare to fight. He looked at McGee, who was still shooting him daggers, and it began to dawn on Tony. Why McGee had been moodier lately; why McGee was so cold to Tony following Rivkin's death. McGee blames me for everything that happened to Ziva. Join the club pal, he thought.
"Back to work," barked Gibbs, putting a clear end to further discussion as his phone rang. He listened for a minute before hanging up and addressing the team. "Tony, I wouldn't be so sure about your hypothesis. We've got another dead marine. Naked. Shot to the face and the chest just minutes ago. Grab your gear."