Tony's widened in shock at her last remark and Ziva's fist unleashed its full force on the girl's already battered face. Her fist was blocked easily by the other girl and Ziva cursed outwardly in Hebrew. Tony quickly stepped in between the two to separate them.

'That is not necessary, Tony. I can control myself,' Ziva reassured him.

'And if not, I can take care of myself,' the girl added.

Tony leant in to whisper to Ziva. 'She has already been beaten up. You cannot hit her wile she is in this state,' he reprimanded. Ziva kept his gaze but her eyes were sheepish as well as defiant.

'You have not introduced me, Ziva,' the girl interrupted.

Ziva stepped out from behind Tony and raised her eyebrows before obeying the request cautiously. 'Tony. Aaliyah. She worked with me on a few operations.' Her eyes narrowed as she made this admission and Aaliyah's smile widened with pleasure at Ziva's pained reaction.

'We have a lot of catching up to do,' Aaliyah suggested. Ziva nodded curtly. They began to circle on another like wild animals warming up to attack their prey. Which one was the predator and which one was the prey was unclear.

'I heard you work for the Americans now.' Her voice did not attempt to conceal the disgust dripping from her voice.

'Yes, they are very good to me.' Ziva's voice had relapsed into a full Israel accent though she still spoke English.

'You have gone soft. Ten years ago you would have left me here to die, maybe even thrown a couple of punches yourself. You wouldn't have dreamed of releasing me.'

'Times change. Nine years ago I would not have dreamt of letting you die,' Ziva countered.

'True,' Aaliyah admitted. 'But nine years ago you did not know me very well.' She took a step closer to Ziva. 'Now, you know me very well.' She stepped closer so that Ziva could feel her warm breath on her face. 'Intimately.' Ziva shuddered and stepped away. Aaliyah smirked.

'I did not release you,' Ziva found an argument to defend herself with. 'He did.'

'You did not stop him,' Aaliyah's voice was musical but not soft, it was sinister and haunting music. 'You stepped in here first. You even dropped your gun.' Ziva blushed as she recalled her reaction to the sight of her old acquaintance. 'You could have shot me.'

'I have a different view of how what it means to have a partner now,' Ziva hissed. 'I do not have to hate everyone anymore.'

Tony butted into the conversation at the thinly veiled reference to him. 'Keep talking about the partners, Ziva.'

'Yes, Ziva,' Aaliyah agreed. 'How is your new partnership different to ours?'

'I trust him.' It was a simple statement but it hit Tony hard.

'You did not trust me?' inquired Ziva's old partner.

'I trust him with more than my life.'

'Go on,' Tony urged.

'You love him.' It was not a question, but a statement with both empathetic and repulsed undertones.

Tony clenched all his muscles, waiting tensely for Ziva's answer.

She hesitated and made Tony wait and endure an agony worse than any he had ever experienced.

'I trust him with my heart.' It was not the answer Tony had been hoping for, but deep down he had expected a flat 'No' so he was pleased with the indecisive answer. A smile flickered across his face as he realised that she had made a reference to her heart and him in the same sentence. That had to be a good sign.

Aaliyah noticed her baulking from a conclusive answer so she pressed on. 'You love him,' she repeated snidely.

Ziva shook her head and turned to leave but was faced with Tony's crestfallen face. She realised that she had just denied the statement point blank. She had laughed off the suggestion in front of Tony many times before but this time felt different. The situation was almost surreal. She was having a conversation with a victim of brutal torture about her love life standing next to instruments of abuse.

'Tony is my partner,' she stated with finality.

Aaliyah raised her eyebrows and Ziva's gun at the same time. It had remained on the floor so far but the butt was now pointing directly at Tony's heart.

'What are you doing?' cried Ziva hysterically.

'You love him.' The explanation was flat and emotionless.

'So?' Ziva shrieked.

'What comes around goes around. Or do you not remember squeezing that particular trigger,' came the snarling response.

'What?' Ziva was frowning, genuinely confused while Tony stood there helpless.

'Come on, Ziva. Do not pretend with me. I can see right through you,' she spat.

Ziva's face lit up as it dawned on her but fell instantaneously when it sank in. 'But you did not love him,' she protested.

'Shows how much you know.'

Ziva's eyes narrowed. 'What do you mean?'

'When he was in America, he called me. He invited to visit him. We had a long overdue honeymoon.' Her voice had transposed to become soft and fragile and Ziva's expression mirrored her former partner's tone.

'What?' she pushed gently.

'That is right. I am not only your former partner, friend, lover, enemy, but also your former sister in law.'

'You were Ari's wife?' Ziva squawked.

'You killed my love, I kill yours.' The tenderness had flown from her voice and it was hard and cold once more. 'That is fair, yes?'

'No, Aali. Ari was a traitor. Tony has done nothing wrong. He does not deserve to die.'

'A traitor to whom, Ziva? His loyalty was not with Israel and he never betrayed Hamas,' she countered scathingly.

'He should have been loyal to Israel. He was a cold blooded killer.' Ziva was almost yelling now.

'Just like you. And just like me. We do not always kill in the heat of the moment. Assassinations are planned. Our blood is icy when we detonate the bomb or throw the knife.' She paused and the silence caused was weighty with tension and dread. 'Or pull the trigger.' She brandished her gun menacingly and Tony gulped. He felt like a spectator to his own death. 'I will kill your partner now,' she informed Ziva cooly.