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The Rescue
Half a dozen navy blue Chargers pulled up just outside the warehouse Abby had traced Ziva's cell phone signal to; the major case van and Ducky's van not far behind them. Director Shepard was with them via MTAC.
Each had their orders: Gibbs wanted El Mohabi alive, his team in safe hands, and Hawkins arrested.
Captain Morris stepped out of another car to join Gibbs and the other team leaders to begin their rescue operation.
They all knew what to do, and everything happened quickly. It was like watching a movie frame-by-frame.
Tony and Ziva were thrown forcefully and with little care into the main room where El Mohabi was waiting.
The agents paired off and circled the warehouse, staking out the entrances, exits and vantage points. Paula Cassidy wanted to be the one to take out Hawkins herself.
Sayal El Mohabi laughed as his targets hit the floor hard: pain was the theme of the day.
Gibbs and McGee were the first to enter the building; they began clearing rooms quietly as other pairs began to follow them.
Tony and Ziva were tied to chairs in the middle of the room; there was no hope for escape via the use of her hidden knife like last time. Or the use of her cell phone.
Captain Morris and a member of her team entered the warehouse via the rear entrance. They systematically cleared the rooms in the same fashion before stopping to observe the actions of El Mohabi.
El Mohabi began beating Tony around the face, taking his time to torment Ziva the same way he had years before while she was on his tail.
The main room of the warehouse was now surrounded by agents, though El Mohabi had four armed men of his own; Gibbs was waiting for the right moment to announce their presence and rescue his team.
Ziva was now on the receiving end of El Mohabi's anger; she was still back-chatting him just to torment her captor more.
It was only when something in Sayal El Mohabi finally snapped that the opportunity to take him out presented himself. Tony and Ziva had managed to taunt him enough for him to have them 'assume the position'.
The sight of his two agents on their knees, hands tied firmly behind their backs, which forced Gibbs into action.
The Arab raised his own handgun and aimed for her left shoulder, then stopped. For a moment, he contemplated shooting her, but instead withdrew a knife and cut a deep gash along her exposed arm.
The assassin barely flinched as the blade ran long and deep, blood dripping down almost instantly.
Tony, on the other hand, began yelling at El Mohabi, even though his broken nose slurred his words.
Gibbs took it as a sign, and as one, the warehouse was stormed by groups of NCIS agents and Navy personnel.
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Tony
It all happened so quickly; one moment El Mohabi was cutting into Ziva's arm and I was yelling at him, the next Gibbs, Probie, Kate, Paula and half the agency had their SIg barrels pointed at us. Well, not Ziva and I specifically, but, you know, in our general direction.
El Mohabi and his cronies laughed at the appearance of the weapons, looked at each other, then raised their automatic rifles in response.
For some not-so-strange reason, it reminded me of the scene from Pirates of the Caribbean 3, just after they return from the after world and try to… hang on DiNozzo, back to reality.
Time seemed to slow; I looked over to Ziva, tried to communicate with her silently as we do so often. She had managed to free her hands quickly and subtly, and was in the process of ripping the hem of her shirt to bandage her arm. If the situation were different, I would have wolf-whistled, because damn, even wounded she's hot!
I should probably tell her that later, but I value my life. Maybe I'll just silence her protests with a kiss; that one at Kate's the other day was pretty damn awesome. Perhaps it's time to withdraw my mother's engagement ring from the safe; I think it would look beautiful on her finger. Mine forever…
A few more shouts made me look back to her face again, and she silently told me how to free my hands. As I followed her unspoken instruction, I smiled in thanks. Our eyes met briefly and there were a few things I didn't recognise; fear, briefly, followed by anxiety, adoration, courage, and love.
Love; since the other day at Kate's, I hadn't known she felt that way about me.
For the first time since this whole escapade started, I'm truly grateful it's Ziva by my side.
It was then that time sped up and everything turned to shit.
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The Rescue
The automatic rifles were raised in a circular fashion, aimed at the various teams who had already targeted them.
Sayal El Mohabi saw an opportunity he could not afford to pass up. Not many people had noticed his hostages were silently conversing; he had, and knew that the Israeli's weak point was for her partner, and vice versa.
Time seemed to slow; Kate moved from her hiding spot slowly and into another, one closer to Ziva and Tony. Their silent communication wasn't missed by the rescue team, though they had the sense to ignore it.
The aggressors didn't lower their guns; they just laughed more at Gibbs' team.
Then, as if a higher power really hated them, time sped up and all hell broke loose.
El Mohabi stood still facing Gibbs, raised his right arm and fired a single shot behind him. It hit Ziva instantly.
Kate launched forward from her hiding spot and fired back, hitting El Mohabi in the chest.
A gunfire broke out, and the kidnapped agents found enough cover in the gunfire to escape to a safer location; namely, outside the warehouse.
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Gibbs
It only lasted a few minutes after El Mohabi took the first shot at Ziva. I didn't see exactly where it hit her, but they both ran passed Kate upon their escape.
Kate fired the first retaliatory shot to protect our people, and that was where I lost track of her. El Mohabi's men fell quickly between the many teams and I; Ducky will be a very busy man once he arrives.
It was only a few moments later when the bullets stopped flying; I noticed the henchmen had all fallen, for the most part in the same general positions they were in before the party started; and most of my team were still standing.
I moved slowly forward, ready to check for any survivors, when I noticed who else was on the floor.
Kate had fallen 5 meters from where Tony and Ziva were standing; mere millimetres from where they had passed her. She was lying in a pool of her own blood.