Viva Mexico

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Post-Hiatus. Gibbs moves to Mexico after resigning from duty. The team is ambushed and soon news are out that an old enemy is back. Will Gibbs come back to save them or does it need a little more to convince him that the team needs him?

4- Enemy´s Face

Ducky arrived at Bethesda within half an hour. He found Ziva in a quiet room up on the fourth floor. A security guard was sitting in front of the door and gave him a questioning look, but let him pass without a word. Obviously he had been informed that he would come out.

Mallard sighed and sat down next to the bed after looking through the report and chart that lay on the table. He hadn´t known the young woman for long, but somehow this situation reminded him of what had happened to Kate. Only the swift movement of her chest rising and falling told him that Ziva was going to be okay.

The first thing Ziva noticed was a pair of kind eyes hovering above her. She relaxed when she recognized those eyes. "Ducky..." Her voice cracked and she scolded herself for her weakness.

"Welcome back." He put a glass of water to her lips and let her take a sip. "Are you feeling better?"

She nodded and managed to sit up a bit, ignoring the stinging pain in her shoulder. "I´m okay." She said and then remembered what had happened. "It was an ambush. Three shooters aiming at the truck...we jumped out to take them out and suddenly there were like five or six more of them in that alley. One of them hit Tim in the head -another one got Tony, I think. They were concentrating on them, thinking that I was weak. That´s how I got away, but he shot me when I climbed over that wall..." Her voice trailed off and she bit her lip to keep those tears of frustration from spilling.

Ducky tried to smile and put his hand on her arm. "We will get them back, do not worry about that. You did a good job, Ziva. If you hadn´t been able to get away, we would have no idea where to begin. It may very well be your statement that will help save them." He said and wondered why she seemed so tense all of the sudden. "What is the matter, dear?"

Ziva thought for a moment until the memory came back clearly. "He took them...He´s trying to take the team apart." She said so softly that it was almost inaudible.

Ducky saw the shock in her dark eyes and waited for a moment. "Did you recognize someone? Who, Ziva?" He asked and wondered why the young woman seemed so shocked all of the sudden.

"I have to get out of here. He´s going to kill me when he gets another chance." She said and tried to pull the cover off, but for some reason it seemed to be filled with lead. Her arms seemed to heavy to move and she felt the warmth of sleep creeping up on her slowly.

"You are no use to anyone if you exert yourself and pass out on us. Stay here for the night while I tell the others at NCIS what you have told me about the events. I will pick you up tomorrow morning, but take the night to recover." He said and for some reason, Ziva didn´t find the strength to object. She simply nodded and settled back on the bed, her eyes closing by themselves. Ducky smiled and put the cover back over her before leaving. Her eyes opened again as he did so and there was fear in them. "Find them, Ducky. He´s going to kill them like he killed Kate." She managed before falling asleep. She didn´t see the look of horror on his face, which was probably good.

Ducky sat next to her bed for a few minutes, his mind racing. He wasn´t sure whether it was the shock or if it could be true. Actually, he thought that it was not possible, but on the other hand Ziva seemed too sure about it. His hands balled into fists he got up and walked out.

Back at NCIS, Abby was still pacing up and down the bullpen when he came in. Her head shot up immediately. "Anything new?" She asked and closed the gap between them with a few steps.

"She will stay in Bethesda until tomorrow morning. It was a through-and-through, but she lost quite a bit of blood. From what she could tell me both Anthony and Timothy were taken hostage after a group of at least 8 people ambushed them. They had no chance, Abby, but with Ziva as witness there is a chance that we will get them home safely." He said and saw the doubt in her eyes. He didn´t want to tell her the last bit of news just yet.

"You know, I really wish we had Gibbs here for this. He would know where to look -or he would have known that it is an ambush beforehands...I miss him so much." She said and felt the older man pulling her into a hug.

"So do I, Abby, but it was his decision and you know just as well as I do that he never took back such a decision in his life ever." Mallard replied and looked up to the balcony above where Shepard was standing. "I´need to talk to Director Shepard for a moment, okay?" He let go of her and walked up the stairs.

Jenny Shepard sighed and walked into her office, motioning the doctor to take a seat. "What did you find out? Could Ziva identify any of their attackers?" She asked and noticed the look of horror in his eyes. The events of the day had taken their toll on her too, but Jenny could still sense that there was yet more to come.

"She is certain that she saw one of them clearly, but I don´t know how that could possibly be... She said that he wants to take the team apart. And that he will kill them just like he has killed Caitlin." He said and watched her blanching.

"Haswari? But Gibbs shot him in his basement almost a year ago..." She began and put her head into her hands. "How certain is this?"

Ducky tilted his head a bit. "Normally I would say uncertain as shock and the short moment she could actually see him would make it difficult to be sure, but we´re talking about Ziva David, who has been trained to observe closer than most others I know. If she says she saw Ari out there, I´m bound to believe her, no matter how uncomfortable this might seem."

Jenny nodded as she reminded herself how well she knew Ziva and her abilities. "Thank you, Dr. Mallard. I suggest you take a look at the evidence brought in. Special Agent Balboa found two dead men at the scene and I want to know if there´s any chance that Haswari is really still out there." She told him and waited until the door to her office was closed again.

Shepard dialed a long number and waited for the phone to ring. Usually it took him a few seconds to reach the phone, but it was picked up even before it rang twice. "Franks." He sounded calm, unlike the last time when she had called him up in the middle of the night.