A/N: Our apologies for the shamless abrupt, cliffhangerish ending.
Review anyway?
Anthony DiNozzo was a thorn in Director David's side. And while Director David was merely irritated when Vance called him urgently, demanding he make himself available for a satellite conference, it was seeing Vance and DiNozzo on a split screen that pushed him from irritated to infuriated.
"Leon," he said, scowling, "You did not inform me I would be speaking with my daughter's esteemed colleague."
Vance suppressed a smile and responded with information he knew his old friend wasn't expecting. "It was Agent DiNozzo that requested this conference."
Tony took that at his cue and plastered a mocking grin on his face. "Hey there, Director. Don't worry, you're not alone. This is equally as painful for me as it is for you, especially considering how well our last meeting went, but this is important."
Tony wasn't surprised when Eli didn't respond; instead he simply turned a questioning eye to Vance and waited for an explanation.
"Agent DiNozzo and Agent David are part of a team currently on a joint investigation with the FBI in Cartagena, Colombia, Eli." Vance said. "Using weapons as a cover, something was smuggled from Cartagena to DC on a Navy ship, and then removed. We're thinking possible terrorist actions, maybe even preparing for an attack. Ziva's gone back undercover as Lina Aperador to find out if Varnaz Terzian is involved."
Tony didn't think it was possible, but the unflappable Director David lost any semblance of control over his emotions. His face visibly paled, and he let out a string of words in Hebrew that had to be curses; it made Tony blush, and he didn't' even know what the man was actually saying.
"Excuse me, Director." Tony piped up, waving his hands. "I don't have a whole lot of time. If Ziva finds out I'm talking to you without telling her…" he paused and smiled fondly, "Well, I think we both know your daughter could kill me with any household object and make it look like an accident."
"Yet you are worried about her?"
"Even more so now that I see you're worried too. I know there's something she's not telling me."
Eli looked amused. "You requested this conference because you think she is keeping information from you?" he asked in a taunting tone.
"Look," Tony said, his jaw tensing, "I met this guy, and seeing the way he looked at her made my skin crawl. Something is not right, and I can't," he cut himself off before he said something he'd regret, and took a deep breath. "I need you to read me in on Varnaz. And I need everything you've got."
Vance leaned back in his seat in MTAC, impressed. DiNozzo might have occasionally been a loose cannon, but he had nerves of steel. Even Vance had to admit he had underestimated him.
"Agent DiNozzo, as much as I appreciate your… concern for my daughter, I am not about to provide you the details of a classified Mossad team." Eli said.
Tony's jaw clenched so tightly he thought it might break and he flexed a hand in and out of a fist. "Look, Director, I get it. And I appreciate the whole big bad Mossad Director, espionage expert thing, but this is not negotiable."
Director David's eyes clouded. "Excuse me?" he asked.
"If you give a crap about your daughter, at all," Tony said, losing control of his previously even tone, "You will tell me everything I need to know before this guy kills her or carries out a terrorist attack and kills us all!" Tony stopped before he started shouting and tried to calm down. "Please." He added, in case it would help his case.
Eli studied him carefully, feeling like a father for the first time in a long time. "As you wish, Agent DiNozzo." He finally conceded. Tony nodded his thanks and tried to prepare himself for whatever was coming.
"Terizan was obsessed with Ziva." Eli said flatly. He paused, turned to his computer and hit a few buttons before turning his attention back to Tony. "He is the son of a rich and worldly Muslim, and a superficial French beauty, which was hard enough to reconcile, even before he became interested in radical Islam."
"How is he a jihadist if he doesn't abide by the rules?" Vance interjected.
"That, my friend, is one of the many things we do not know about him. Our profiler's best guess was that his affiliation with whatever terrorist organization he is working for is a trade off in his mind. He can collect wealth and woman while enjoying cigars and aged scotch and remain a good Muslim because he is fighting for the cause."
"So the guy is a religious extremist and an international playboy." Tony remarked, rubbing his forehead. "So why Ziva?"
Eli sighed heavily. "For awhile, my daughter did not know why we changed the course of her original mission and pulled her from out of Cartagena. She believed it is because we thought Varnaz would lead us to answers, but I knew that was not the case. He is far too careful."
There was a heavy pause in the room, and Tony tried to ignore the tight panicky feeling settling in his chest.
"She was removed from the mission on my direct orders when the Officer responsible for background information on Terzian discovered the other girl he developed a similar obsession with," Eli held up a photo, and Tony edged closer to the screen to see it. He studied the image and sucked in a breath. The girl in the photograph was practically a carbon copy of Ziva.
"She also bears a striking resemblance to his mother." Eli said. "Agent DiNozzo, I pulled my daughter from this mission because I became convinced that as his obsession grew, Terzian would act out, and if he could not have her, I do not think he would have let her get away. Perhaps if I hadn't…" he trailed off.
Tony raised an eyebrow. "I guess sometimes blood is thicker than country." He said, earning a sharp look from Eli.
"Of course it was!" Eli snapped. "No father, no matter the cause, would have taken any chance she would end up like the other girl."
Vance considered stepping in and ending the conversation. His agents were in the field, away from him, and clearly had some kind of personal stake in one another. DiNozzo already looked like he was about to start breaking kneecaps, and Vance didn't want to fuel the fire, but before he could intervene, Tony spoke again, in a low, tight voice.
"What did he do to her?"
Eli swallowed, looking disturbed for the first time Leon could recall. "He was never tied to any of it. He was even allegedly in Morocco when she disappeared from Dubai, where they met. But there is no question he is the one."
"What did he do?" Tony repeated through clenched teeth.
"He held her for exactly 16 days, during which time he raped and tortured her endlessly. When it was over, he mutilated her, before strangling her almost to death and reviving her three times before ending her life. I commissioned a copy of the police report and when I saw the images of what he did," Eli's voice broke slightly, "Never for Ziva."
In Tony's mind's eye, images of Ziva after 16 days of rape and torture played out like a movie. There was a moment when he actually felt the threat of vomiting, but he grabbed for a water bottle and forced it down, avoiding any physical reaction.
"You said for awhile she didn't know." Tony recalled, hardly realizing he was speaking out loud.
"She must have discovered it when she accessed the case file a few days ago." Eli said, nodding as he verified this on his computer. "There are still ways she can access missions assigned to her in our database."
Tony was unprepared for the surge of rage that washed over him. It must have been showing on his face because even Eli looked surprised. "Why the fuck didn't she tell me?" he exploded. "I'm her partner, and I'm supposed to have her back, which is pretty god damn difficult if she won't let me!"
"I think you know exactly why she did not tell you." Eli said quietly, the sudden antithesis to Tony's anger.
Tony snorted. "Oh yea, I forgot about her training. Well congratulations, Daddy Director, you trained her well. There's nothing that girl won't do to prevent a terrorist attack, including a suicide mission."
Without taking the bait, Eli showed the hint of a smile. "And there is nothing she would not do for you, including hiding something like this, if it meant keeping you safe."
"That is officially not an excuse anymore." He said, his face stony.
Eli chuckled. "And you point to her training." He said, shaking his head. He fixed Tony with a pointed look. "She certainly has forgotten vital parts of that."
As angry as he was with Ziva at that moment, Tony couldn't help himself from using that remark as a tipping point for Things He Wanted to Say to Eli David; Act One.
"If you try to manipulate this, to help her remember her training, in order to stamp the feelings out of her, I will hunt you down. If you try to use this as a reason she needs to go back to Israel, I will follow her, cuff her to me and pull her back to DC if I have to."
The look on the Director's face was a clear indication both of those ideas had crossed his mind, which only encouraged Tony to keep talking.
"She's not a weapon, Director." He practically spit out. "She is a person. A pretty amazing person and if you tried treating her that way, maybe she'd still be talking to you. Thank you Director Vance." He finished, striding away from the screen and checking his watch. If he hurried, he could be there when she had dinner with him. There was no way he was letting her out of sight now, regardless of how well she could take care of herself.
Gibbs was sitting at the bar of a dimly lit restaurant when his phone rang. He had been feeling immensely grateful that Ziva and Varnaz had gotten their check, and this "date" was almost over. Just watching the two of them gave him the creeps.
"Yea?" he answered quietly.
"You need to watch your boy." Vance replied without pleasantries.
Gibbs smiled to himself. "Hello to you too, Leon."
"I just got off a satellite conference with DiNozzo and Ziva's father."
And there it was; the problem Gibbs couldn't specify but knew was coming. Of course there was bound to be something that pushed DiNozzo over the edge, but if he was this willing to betray Gibbs' trust because of Ziva, maybe he had been wrong about trusting them to make it work.
"Eli filled us in on Terzian's obsession with Ziva, and the girl he raped, tortured and killed in Dubai, who looks just like Ziva. I need you to keep DiNozzo from doing something stupid, Gibbs. I mean it."
"I heard you Leon." Gibbs said calmly.
"I will not have this agency responsible for failing to stop a terrorist attack because two agents put their personal relationship before the good of the order!" Vance barked into the phone.
Gibbs remained calm, mostly because he knew how much it irritated Vance. "Yea, got that one, Director," He said, "They'll be fine." Gibbs threw a few bills on the bar and slid off of his stool as Ziva and Terzian walked by and out of the front door. He let Vance continue to lecture him as he followed them outside, just in time to see Varnaz lean in to kiss Ziva.
Gibbs was surprised when she jerked her head away at the last minute, her face angled just noticeably enough that Gibbs assumed she was looking at something. He followed her line of vision, and rolled his eyes. Maybe Vance was right and DiNozzo was determined to land in hot water tonight, because he was leaning against a bus stop across the street, watching.
Abby had sent the results she had gotten back so far from the evidence found on the ship, and dutifully sent it to McGee. It was this evidence that McGee was going over with Fornell and Sacks when Tony, Ziva and Gibbs returned to the safe house, and Gibbs broke the calm of their discussion by slamming the door so hard McGee was afraid it would fall off its hinges.
Gibbs and Tony both looked really pissed, and Ziva looked baffled, and maybe slightly guilty. "Uh oh." McGee muttered under his breath.
It was Ziva who spoke first. "Gibbs, I am sorry. I faltered, but it will not happen again."
Gibbs looked at her with the classic Gibbs 'What the hell is that?' look, the look that could easily be placed in a dictionary next to 'incredulous'. "That was the first time I've ever seen you slip undercover. It might be the first time you've ever slipped in the field!" Gibbs barked.
Ziva opened her mouth to apologize again, but thought better of it. "I know," she said quietly, "But it was only a mistake, Gibbs. It will not happen again." She sighed and turned to Tony. "I thought we all agreed you would not be there!" she hissed.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Ziva." Tony said, shocking everyone but Gibbs with his harsh tone. "Did I keep you in the dark about something? Did I just take this partnership into my own hands and forget to tell you something pretty damn important?"
Ziva's eyes narrowed, but Gibbs spoke before she could reply. "He agreed not to go until he and Director Vance had a satellite conference with Director David."
The words seemed to sit in the air for just a minute before being absorbed by Ziva, who reacted like Tony had just punched her in the gut. "You talked to my father?" she whispered. "How dare you!"
Tony laughed humorlessly. "How dare I? Well gee, Ziva, I'm sorry that I give a shit when some crazy, mysterious, uncatchable terrorist is looking at you like he's a few minutes from giving you the basement treatment!"
McGee blinked a few times and looked at Fornell to see if he knew what they were talking about, but his face looked just about as lost as McGee's.
Ziva put two fingers on the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes for a moment. "He told you." She said flatly.
"He also emailed Vance a copy of the police report from Dubai. Our good Director was kind enough to forward them to me if you'd like to take a look at your doppelganger that was chopped and mutilated by your man Varnaz!"
It was then that Gibbs changed his game plan. Tony going around him to Vance was enough to make Gibbs reconsider his leniency with rule number twelve, but as soon as those words left Tony's mouth, Gibbs knew he would waive the rule.
He recognized the fear in Tony's voice, and he'd only ever heard it expressed with that kind of panic once before, when Tony was sitting in a jail cell. "But you know those are the breaks when you're a homicidal maniac dumping butchered woman's remains in the woods in the middle of the night." Tony's tone when he said that had stayed with Gibbs for a long time, but his tone when he was talking to Ziva would probably downright haunt him.
In that moment, he earned his one and only chance to break a rule. In that moment, it was impossible not to see how much more he cared about Ziva than himself.
"David, men's room. Wait there." Gibbs snapped.
"What the hell?" Sacks whispered to McGee, but Ziva just turned on her heel and left, as if there was nothing remotely strange about it, leaving Gibbs and Tony facing each other. If either of them noticed McGee was sitting at his desk, and Sacks and Fornell were hovering around him, they didn't acknowledge it.
"You went behind my back, DiNozzo." Gibbs said harshly. "Why?"
"Because I thought I had to." Tony replied, his tone strained by his clenched jaw. "I didn't have time to explain it to you and deal with making excuses, telling lies, or get caught breaking a rule."
"Are you breaking a rule?" Gibbs asked, looking him dead in the eye.
"No. But Ziva and I are headed somewhere serious." Tony said matter of factly. "And you can't stop us Gibbs. It's not because I don't get that you're the boss of this team, but you're not the boss of my entire life."
Gibbs arched an eyebrow, but refrained from commenting, so Tony crossed his arms over his chest and drew his proverbial line in the sand. "When we figure out our situation, you can't say no." he told Gibbs.
"Oh yes I can." Gibbs shot back.
"No!" Tony exclaimed. "That's not happening, Gibbs. Because I've done everything right! I have been loyal, and I have killed myself proving your theories, listening to your gut and toeing your line. I'm supposed to your guy, and you don't punish your guy because he's finally happy."
McGee's jaw dropped at the two simultaneously dropped bombshells. Tony was capable of standing up to Gibbs because it sounded like Tony knew he was in love with Ziva, which McGee had not expected.
"You done yet, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, sounding exasperated. Tony didn't say anything, so Gibbs continued. "I said I could stop you, Tony, not that that I would. This isn't exactly a surprise to me."
The slight smirk Gibbs had been wearing turned into a smile at Tony's expression. When his senior agent didn't speak, a testament to just how taken aback he was, Gibbs clapped him on the shoulder. "You two are good at a lot of things, but hiding this from me for five years?"
"How could you possibly know things had changed?" Tony squeaked out.
Gibbs smiled again. "I was at your apartment last month and there was hummus in your fridge. Christ, DiNozzo, I've known this was coming for years."
"And you're not going to fire us? Or kill us?" Tony asked, utterly dumbfounded.
Gibbs shrugged, as if he hadn't spent countless hours poring over what it would mean for him and for the team. "I could, but you make each other better, and God knows I can't have you getting worse. But this is your only get out of jail free card. You break another rule,"
Tony cut him off. "You'll kill me?" he guessed.
Gibbs chuckled and nodded. He raised his arm and pointed up the stairs, in the direction Ziva had gone. "DiNozzo, men's room."
"Uh, that's not a good idea boss." Tony said, looking down for the first time in their conversation. "I am so…furious with her right now." He sighed and looked up, unprepared for the empathy in Gibbs' gaze.
"I know," his boss told him, "But you don't get a rule waived just so you can screw it up." Tony held his gaze for a minute, and then nodded resolutely.
"Hey," Gibbs called as Tony started walking towards the men's room. Tony, the stand in son, turned to face his makeshift father again. Gibbs jerked his head in the direction Tony had been walking, where Ziva was waiting, and smiled. "That's good work, Anthony."
Ziva was sitting on the bathroom counter, next to a sink, fuming irrationally. She knew she was at fault; she should have told Tony everything, should have trusted him, should have many things, and probably shouldn't have many more.
But Tony, of all people, knew about her father, what she had been through, and what she feared about him. He should have known better. She heard him coming up the stairs and counted every exaggerated stomp before he charged through the door and leaned against the wall opposite her.
For awhile, neither of them spoke, there was only stillness and staring, and as angry as they were, a part of each of them was resisting the urge to skip the verbal sparring and use the charged, volatile tension festering between them for more physical pursuits.
"If you are worried about me, you can come to me." Ziva said indignantly. "Instead of distracting me with sex before running to my father of all people."
Tony raised his eyes to meet her gaze, looking murderous. "Don't you dare take that tone with me, like this is my fault. Do not turn this on me, because I am so livid with you, Ziva, that I don't know what to do. I don't know how to channel this anger without beating someone to a pulp, so don't you dare use that tone."
She blinked in shock and ran an angry hand through her hair because she didn't know what to say.
When he spoke again, his voice was heavy with raw anger and tinged with fear. "How could you keep this from me?"
She exhaled, realizing all the reasons she had used to justify her actions to herself sounded ridiculous. "I do not know."
"You don't know?" Tony thundered. "Ziva, this is different from… he's been waiting for nine years!"
"I am not a child, Tony!" she shot back. "I am not helpless, I should not need protecting. You should not constantly be in the line of fire because you had the misfortune of being assigned my partner!"
"Yea, I know you're not helpless, Zi. You're a fucking superhero. How could I forget?" Tony shouted, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"That is not what this is about!" Ziva slammed her hand into the stall next to her sink. "You could have died if you hadn't been lucky with Michael, and I am shocked that any of us survived Somalia and if you get in his way, he will kill you, and I do not know what I would do."
Tony's face went through a number of expressions before he stormed to the door, closed his hand around the knob and started opening it and pulling it shut as hard as he could. After ten or eleven good slams, he turned back to Ziva.
"That's exactly how I feel! You said it yourself, you're not the same person you were nine years ago! You're still a bad ass, but you have feelings now, Ziva. Your training model changed!"
It was Ziva's turn to snort. "You have been talking to my father."
"I am not your father!" Tony thundered. "I like you like this, which is why I'd like to keep you alive! You're so damn concerned about being the one who gets me in trouble? You forgot to turn the tables. Think about what I'll do if I let you end up like this girl!"
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the photos he printed from Eli's email, strode to her and starting slamming them on the counter next to where she sat. "Think about the way I would feel if he did this to you, and I knew that I let him touch you, that I didn't handcuff you to me and hide you somewhere!"
He was frantic now, and her anger was dissolving and quickly being replaced with guilt. She reached her hand toward him but he jerked away. "You don't know what you would do?" he repeated, a bitter laugh void of humor escaping his lips again. "Think about what I'd have to do."
He started pacing the length of the bathroom. "Sorry Abby and Ducky. Ziva was kidnapped by the terrorist. He raped her and tortured her within an inch of her life over and over until it finally ended sixteen days later. Yea, I know I'm supposed to have her back, but I couldn't be bothered to find out why every intuition I posses was telling me something was wrong," he came back to the counter, "until she was mutilated like the girl in this photo! That's on me." He shouted.
"I... I do not know what I could possibly say." Ziva murmured. Tony looked up at her, fear, anger and something else mixing in his eyes. He started pacing again, walking away from Ziva and back toward her. He did six or seven laps before Ziva reached out and caught and his wrist. Tony turned, slowly, facing her.
He stood, she sat, his eyes blazing, her eyes guilty, one of her hands still holding one of his by the wrist, neither of them sure what was coming next.