Flashback: 0200 Enroute To Ziva's Apartment

It had taken her two hours to convince them to drive her to her apartment so she could pack at least one bag. They confiscated her passport, NCIS badge, cell phone and both of her guns but left her with her knife after she gave Bashan an impassioned argument, a pleading look and a promise not to fight or run. Run. Where was she going to run to? There was nowhere to hide from her government. She couldn't work at NCIS on the run from Mossad. She had nowhere to go. No one could save her this time not even Gibbs. She had decided to accept her fate and follow the orders given to her. Years ago she'd agreed to put Israel before herself and by tonight she would be resuming life in Tel Aviv.

The car is silent as she looks out the window into the darkness rubbing her fingers together. Her escort is an attaché that she knows but she is not sure if his silence is out of respect or disgust. She hates the idea of someone going through her personal belongings to pack them to be shipped to Tel Aviv. Hates the idea of leaving the United States. When she transferred to this assignment, she hoped that it would turn into something more permanent. Her decision to leave Israel had been an easy one, in many ways an opportunity to start over. After learning about Ari and her father, it became too difficult to maintain the carefully constructed walls that successfully contained her emotions for so long. In those last days with Ari, she was afraid of losing him. She wanted to see him because she had a feeling that something terrible was going to happen to the only sibling she had left. Part of why she wanted to be a control officer was to be assigned to him, to try to protect him. To protect her family. She knew she was losing him but like so many other things she'd learned to deny she denied that too. When Gibbs told her the weapon was called a "Kate" her mind knew the truth even though her soul didn't want to believe it. Talking to Ari that day broke her heart as she prepared herself for the possibility that she might have to take his life. She had to decide what to do, decide what she could live with. In the end, it had come down to doing what was right. Not what was right for anyone in particular or any country but what was the right thing to do. She couldn't live with herself if she let Ari kill Gibbs and make it look like he took his own life. She could not allow herself to do that. In the intelligence business that is a weakness and a sign that it's time for a change or that death is approaching because such weakness leads to hesitation. Weak agents do not survive no matter what government they work for.

She was expected to be strong, unwavering, decisive and willing to do whatever it took for the mission to succeed, the objective to be accomplished. Early in one's career, an operative had to accept this reality in order to avoid drowning in a sea of emotion and regret. A stronger officer would have killed Gibbs not Ari. She remembers the first time she seduced a target in the name of Mossad. Remembers how she cried in the shower when she went back to the hotel but only that first time. After that she quickly mastered how to use sex to her advantage, and, eliminated emotion from one more part of herself. She never liked it but accepted it as part of what it took to get the job done. A smile creeps on her face picturing Gibbs' reaction if she ever did that for NCIS. There's probably a rule for that too. He had different expectations for his team members. The job is the focus but he isn't ready to sacrifice his personnel to get it done if there are other options available.

She wonders what her teammates will think in the days to come and the faint smile disappears remembering that she no longer has a right to call them that. On her way to the embassy she had tried to call Tony. He was a good friend to her, they all were but he was the only one besides Gibbs she wanted to talk with at that moment. A condition of her reassignment was a termination of all personal connections to NCIS. She is more worried about them than what life will now be like for her. It's not that she's afraid to go back to Israel, to Mossad operations. The problem is that she is sad to be leaving her life here. She has always had competent colleagues but she hadn't had such good friends in a long time. She had come to enjoy the luxury of trusting what you can see and showing emotions without being viewed as weak. Life was different and she was happy. Happy to be able to tell people what she did. She could not tell most people that she worked for Mossad and those she did usually classified her as an assassin. Her father was right about her being a killer. It's what she did because it was her duty but in her time with NCIS she truly felt as if she left that life behind to become an investigator. She was intrigued by espionage and good at it but the life of a spy was lonely and full of lies. Proud to serve her country, she was not always proud of what she needed to do. She looked forward to seeing Israel and all that she missed there but not resuming her life there.

Mossad officers signed up for life there was no quitting, no way out. What had Bashan said? She was going to be pulled out of NCIS before her confession about Ari. She knew she was changing, getting soft and wondered if and when they might notice. Somehow she had not missed the moment they realized it. They questioned whether she was more loyal to NCIS than Israel and she could not give the proper answer that she was loyal to Israel and Mossad. As they approached her apartment she still could not answer what she would do if it came down to a choice between Mossad and NCIS. That choice used to be so clear but now it is blurry. Perhaps it is a good thing that she no longer is in a position of having to choose.

1130 Israeli Embassy

"The hit on Gibbs is called off the same day that Ziva's reassigned and we find two dead bodies in her apartment."

McGee looks over at DiNozzo standing against the wall to his left. The two men who surprised them at Ziva's apartment were Israelis working out of the embassy. One of the men made a phone call then the two NCIS agents were escorted to their current location. Despite their best efforts along the way, they still have no idea what is going on and why there are two dead bodies in Ziva's bathtub.

"It doesn't make any sense." DiNozzo is beyond frustrated by the day's events. Even before discovering the bodies he was convinced that something bad had happened to Ziva. It is a surprising him how much he believes in her.

"Would you rather someone still be trying to kill Gibbs? How long are they going to keep us here?"

"I don't know Probie. Why don't you ask one of our hosts?" Tony nods his arm towards the door where there stood two very large guards.

The door opens and in walks a tall, older man. "Agent DiNozzo, Agent McGee I am Officer Michael Bashan."

Before Tony or McGee could respond Gibbs enters the room, "Boss."

"I'm here to collect my agents. All of them." His voice is loud and edgy. He was not the least bit amused by the time that he spent waiting for Tony to call back to say that he and McGee were okay. He was enroute to Ziva's apartment with Ducky following when he received the call from Officer Bashan that the two were being transported to the embassy.

"Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. We finally meet. Your two agents were trespassing." Bashan inspects Gibbs with his eyes. Familiar with his dossier he is very much interested in the man whose life Ziva David chose over that of her beloved brother.

"They were visiting a friend." Gibbs surveys the room the glimmer of the gold NCIS badge catching his eye from the corner of the desk. Even with bad eyes he can recognize it a mile away.

Bashan walks past Gibbs until he is standing in front of Tony, "Friends. Is that why Agent DiNozzo called her 6 times between the hours of 11pm and 2am? That's a bit late to be checking on a friend."

Busted Tony looks sheepishly at McGee and Gibbs, "I was worried about her."

"Your concern was unnecessary. Mossad agents have no friends." The worry is clear on all of their faces and it is all Bashan needs to see to reinforce that recalling Ziva was for the best.

Gibbs maintains eye contact with Bashan as McGee and DiNozzo look at each other chilled by the coldness of his words. There were days when they thought the things Ziva said were insensitive but those were nothing compared to what they were now listening to.

"Americans are very sentimental people. Officer David is a trained operative for one of the world's most elite intelligence services. She is trained to develop relationships and use those relationships to ensure the security of Israel, to extract information, and to kill those who pose a threat to our country. People like Officer David have no friends. You are fooling yourselves if you believe otherwise."

Standing there Tony cannot believe that Bashan is talking about the partner he works with everyday. This is not the person he knows. She is not cold like this. There is not anyone who can convince him that she is this person that he just described. She can't be. He knows her better than that. Filled with anger, Tony feels a hand on his shoulder and Gibbs' glare silences the words about to come out of his mouth.

"Where is Officer David now?" Gibbs is no more convinced than Tony but he knows better than to pass up any opportunity to find out more.

Bashan turns walking to the other side of the desk sitting down, "Home."

"Uh, she's definitely not there. Only the two dead guys there." Tony smiles as McGee's naïve statement.

"Officer David has many enemies but she is safe. She will arrive in Israel this afternoon and stay there for a short time to prepare for her new assignment in Iraq." The older man is amused by their tenacity but not surprised. Ziva's reports made the extent of what they were willing to do quite clear. She fit in so well with this NCIS team because they were as stubborn as her.

"That's a death sentence." Gibbs voice is steady concealing the emotion driving him. It's not a matter of whether Ziva can take care of herself. They all know she can do that, she never let them forget it.

Tony can be silent no longer, "Her father hates her that much?"

"Agent DiNozzo, you are even more brazen than Officer David described. She did not do you justice." A scowl on his face, Bashan laughed inside at the similarities he sees. He was just like her no wonder she and this particular agent had become so close.

"You have no idea. You should see the two of them together."

Gibbs cracks a smile at McGee's statement resisting the urge to slap him in mixed company.

Bashan inhales looking down at his desk as he folds his hands in front of him, "It's where she's needed. I'm sure you can understand that Agent Gibbs. She is an exemplary officer and with the rapport she's developed with Americans she will have a great impact there."

"Wait for me outside." Gibbs doesn't even look at the two men to his left as he speaks. They have wasted enough time and he will not sacrifice what may be his last chance to find the truth.

For a moment, they hesitate not sure what to do before turning to exit the room. Bashan motions for the two guards to follow McGee and DiNozzo out of the office.

As the door closes, Gibbs demonstrates exactly why he is not a politician, "I'm not buying it. You and I both know that's not the reason for her new assignment."

"Some things are unforgivable even for a father."

Gibbs is stunned, "Even when that father has done worse things?"

"Life is full of double standards Agent Gibbs. Officer David knows that. She made a choice and now must deal with the consequences. Her position was temporary. Did you think she would be there forever?"

"I thought that she would be there until it no longer suited the needs of either of our governments."

"That is correct and she has come to the end of her usefulness with NCIS. You shouldn't feel guilty. We were going to reassign her anyway because of these." Bashan takes pictures out of his drawer and hands them to Gibbs.

"What's this?" Gibbs flips through the pictures of Tony at Ziva's apartment.

"That's what we'd like to know."

"I'm more interested in why are there two dead men in Ziva's apartment?" Not a man to fall victim to distraction the pictures are not what he wants to know about right now.

There's a knock at the door and a man enters handing Bashan a note then waits by the door. Bashan looks up from the note, "There are no longer any dead men at Officer David's apartment."

Gibbs squints at him shaking his head, "For your sake, I hope that's true about her safety."

"There is no longer a price on your head and there is nothing left for you to concern yourself with. Officer Alter will escort you and your men out of the building. Good day Special Agent Gibbs."