Chapter 15

While Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva were talking to Abby; Vance was in Director David's old office with Malachi Ben-Gideon.

"Who is going to be the new director of Mossad?" Vance asked Malachi.

"I am, most likely. If Ziva was still one of us, then he would want her to be. But after she left, he asked me to be the director to succeed him," Malachi answered.

"Why you? Why not anyone else?"

"You think I am not capable of filling Eli David's spot? Is that it?" the Mossad officer asked Vance.

Leon could tell that Gideon was offended. But he didn't let that stop him. "No. I don't. But I do wonder why Eli would pick you as the new director."

"He said that I was the best. That I think things through, I am wise, and I am the most loyal," Malachi said arrogantly.

Right before Vance could respond, his phone rang. "Vance."

Gibbs was on the other end of the line. "We've got an ID on the bullet that hit Eli David."

"Who's was it?" Vance asked Gibbs.

"Officer Avshalom Hassar. Part of the Ziva's unit, and she says that they were friends since childhood."

"Are you going to question him?" Leon inquired.

"Ziva's looking for him right now."

"Speaking of which, how's she holding up?"

"She's confused. Not that she'll ever admit that."

"Make sure that's she okay. We need her on this case because she's the expert that's on our side," Vance stated firmly.

"And if she can't handle it Leon?" Gibbs asked.

"We both know that she's strong enough to deal with this…But if she isn't, then she won't have to help if she doesn't want to," he said.

Gibbs hung up, and Vance turned back to Malachi. "We know who fired Director David's killshot."

"Really? Who was it?" the soon-to-be director asked.

"An officer named Avshalom Hassar. Our forensic scientist found his fingerprints on the bullets," he explained.

"Officer Hassar? That is not too much of a surprise," Malachi said.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well Hassar was very upset when Ziva left on her liaison position. He did not want his best friend to leave Israel, and I thought that he had fallen in love with her," he told Vance.

"So he would have shot Eli after she has been there for five years? That sounds like a long time to hold a grudge against your director."

"After Ziva came back, Hassar was very happy, but when she got lost in Somalia, he was furious with Eli for sending her on such a dangerous mission less than one month after she was home. As soon as word got back that she was an American citizen and an NCIS agent, Avshalom was no longer going to stand it. He confronted Eli here about Ziva," Malachi explained.

"Then how did he get into the firefight?" Vance asked him.

"Witnesses say that he was arguing about Director David's judgment. He got so angry that he pulled out his weapon. But they did not see anything, just heard yelling."

"So this was a hate crime? Hassar killed David and injured an officer out of love for Ziva?" Director Vance asked. He was confused because he though Mossad officers aren't supposed to let their feelings influence their actions.

"Possibly. But we cannot be sure until we talk to him. I suggest that you let Agent Gibbs interrogate him. He may break he sees Ziva through the glass of interrogation," Malachi suggested to Vance.

"I'll run that by him."

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