Pivotal Moments
A/N And now for something radically different... The more I worked on this, the more I convinced myself it really was possible to read the episode this way...but I'm pretty sure this isn't what the powers that be had in mind. Some of the dialogue is theirs; the rest I don't think they'd lay claim to.
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They sat silently in a row as they clipped into their harnesses and listened to the roar of the plane taking off: Vance, Gibbs, Ziva, Tony. Once they were in the air, the noise suddenly vanished.
Ziva was waiting for Gibbs' snoring to commence when Vance spoke.
"Officer David, if there's anything else you'd like us to know before we arrive in Israel, I'd suggest you start now," he said mildly.
She sat silently. She knew he knew her father, probably better than she did.
"Ziva," Gibbs said slowly. She turned to look at him. "I had a conversation with the Secretary of the Navy yesterday."
"We've met," she said icily.
"He expressed Agency level suspicions of you because you could work so closely with me after I killed your brother."
She jerked alert, noting the shock on Vance's face as well. Gibbs looked straight into her face. She could tell what he wanted her to say, and she weighed it a moment. Her father knew, had hinted at the knowledge over the years. Certainly nothing could compound his anger now. And perhaps this was her last chance to win trust at NCIS. She nodded slowly to Gibbs, then leaned to direct her words to Vance.
"That's not what happened," she said softly.
Vance cocked his head, questioning.
"Ari was there to kill Gibbs, and confessed his crimes, that much is true, but I was the one who shot him."
From behind her, she heard Tony's gasp.
"You killed your own brother," Vance repeated slowly.
She gave a brief nod. "I was raised to believe that taking the lives of murderers to preserve those of innocent people is justified."
Vance turned to Gibbs. "You helped her hide this."
Gibbs shrugged. "You've met their father."
Vance nodded. "We worked together many years ago, in Amsterdam. I was field agent, he had yet to become deputy director. We were friendly."
Ziva shrugged. He could tell her father whatever he wanted.
"But," Vance said, sternly enough to make her pay attention again, "a number of intelligence agencies have recently begun to suspect the involvement of Mossad in missions well outside the purview of that organization." He looked at Ziva questioningly, and she shrugged.
"I would not put it past him."
"I need you tell me what you can," Vance said firmly.
Ziva slowly began. "My father has lost trust in me since I first began at NCIS. I believe he had some idea that I was involved in Ari's death, though he never said so. Recently he set me and Agent Rivkin together, to spy on each other and report to him. But we did what we could to protect each other. I told them he was too far away for close monitoring, but seemed fine. He told them I was personally involved at NCIS but professionally loyal to Mossad." She took a breath to hold her voice steady. "I am still fairly certain Rivkin was only following orders. His mission in Los Angeles was certainly approved. And I have not seen evidence that he was involved in the attack at SecNav's home."
"I have," Tony said quietly, speaking for the first time.
She turned quickly to face him.
He spoke directly to her, his tone apologetic. "The computer Abby examined, from Tabal's apartment—it had been online at your apartment. He must have planted it when he killed Tabal. That," he paused, "that's what I was coming to tell you last night."
Her eyes traced his face, trying to find a lie. There was none. She turned back to Vance. "Well then. I still have to reason to think my father was using Michael for his own purposes. There is no other reason for him to bug that meeting."
Vance nodded slowly. "Your father had asked me to watch you closely too, though I have never had reason to question your loyalty to NCIS before now. I'll be perfectly honest, the agencies have assigned me to take his measure, to investigate your father's management without his knowledge." He glanced around, confirming their attention. "If you mean to continue to work with us, and I believe you do, we need to find a way to get the information we need while we're here."
"How?" Ziva asked simply.
"We need it confirmed that he ordered Rivkin to do what he did in the US. And we need to find some way to monitor him over the next few months."
Ziva's eyes dropped to her lap. "It is likely that he will not let me return with you. The bomb was meant to kill me. Even if he lets me live, he will not trust me out of his sight."
Vance thought. "Well, we can use that. We just have to convince him you're not more loyal to us."
"How?" Now it was Gibbs asking. "I won't leave her there to die, Leon."
"We'll have to stage something," Vance told them. "We have to make them believe the actions of this week have destroyed Ziva's relationships with us. We need to have a plan."
They spent the rest of the flight laying it out, planning as best they could the confrontations of the next day. Ziva would rile her father, Tony would draw him out about Rivkin. Tony and Gibbs would find opportunities for public confrontations with Ziva. And at some point Gibbs would slip away, undetected, and drop a cellphone with Rebekah, so Ziva wouldn't be cut off from them in the operation ahead.
As they disembarked, later, Ziva's eyes caught on the coffin. Its presence on the plane had faded from her mind. She raised her eyes to glare at Hadar for seeming saddened by its presence, daring to kiss her cheeks, thanking her for coming. And then they were climbing into the cars, Ziva at the wheel, and the plan was underway. It occurred to her as she swerved through the streets that for the very first time, she actually was being disloyal to her father, to Mossad. But the decisions she had made in the last few hours felt more right than anything had in a long time. And now she would do what she had to.
***
Revealing her inner turmoil to her father took little acting, and Ziva slipped into the observation room a little while later, nodding to Vance and Gibbs that she had been successful. On the screen, Eli commented that the death of the American agent was an accident, confirming that he had ordered Rivkin to bug the meeting.
The Americans avoided reacting, but she could tell from their tensing shoulders that they too had understood the implications.
Then Tony let loose. "Speaking of family, what kind of father would thrown an out-of-control assassin at his own daughter? What kind of business are you running here? Huh? Everyone just runs around doing whatever the hell they want?"
Ziva jerked back at Tony's words. It almost surprised her that she had never asked the question.
"They do as I say," her father sneered.
"Rivkin?"
"Always."
Tony looked into camera just to make sure Ziva took the point, and she did. Rivkin was under orders. Tony had cleared his name. But her heart still ached because what Tony didn't think of was that this made Ziva even more of a traitor. If he was following orders, she shouldn't have called in Hadar. And it made her even more sure that the bombing had been targeting her; they would not have set it to kill Michael if they knew he was obedient.
Emotion flowing through her again, she searched out Hadar. Proving her distress to him wasn't going to be work either. She wrapped an arm around his throat.
"You called me, remember?" Hadar gasped.
"To remove Rivkin from harm."
"Harm from whom?"
"Himself." She wondered how long he would carry out the charade.
"Circumstances had changed."
"And this was your answer?"
"I protect the Mossad."
She continued the angry exchange, forcing the issue.
Hadar finally snapped back. "Rivkin was in chaos. You knew and yet you decided not to tell your father--you tried to protect Rivkin, but in truth, you are the reason he is dead."
And there it was, the truth. She threw him away from her angrily, yelling.
Hadar laid it on her instead. "All we could do was clean up after him. And you."
She repeated over and in her head that it wasn't true.
Gibbs approached, and Hadar's voice softened.
"There is no one left to blame. Stop looking." He handed her the photograph from her apartment: Tali, Ziva, Ari. She thought of Ari, that first deep betrayal, years ago now but still the first true blow to her trust. Still deeply painful. And now her father. This was true.
"Hadar set the fire," she told Gibbs softly when Hadar was out of earshot.
"Covering for Rivkin."
"I was betrayed. By Mossad, by my father, by Tony...who's next? You?"
He looked at her gently, his eyes pressing upon her the face that his coming words were for the benefit of others. She nodded fractionally to tell him she knew.
"How can you say you were betrayed?" Gibbs snapped. "You didn't know what you were doing and you ended up betraying us!"
"It is impossible to serve two countries at once!" she answered angrily.
"Then you'd better decide which it is you mean to serve!" Gibbs stalked off without waiting for a reply, his body language speaking volumes. Ziva glanced around quickly, confirming that enough people had heard to get word quickly to her father. She turned and went inside.
***
In Eli's office, Vance smoothly covered for Gibbs with an excuse about coffee, glad for confirmation that Gibbs had gotten away to Officer Meir without difficulty.
"It's been a long time, my friend," Eli said jovially.
"Amsterdam."
Eli nodded.
Vance was mild, but slowly got confirmation of what they had suspected: Rivkin had been under orders, both in LA and in DC, but had never gotten the information he'd been sent for. Vance was glad to learn as well that he still had Eli's trust.
As he rose to leave, Vance glanced as a photo behind Eli's desk. "Is that Ziva?"
"Yes."
"She's been a good agent for us, Eli," Vance said firmly, hoping to do his part to keep her safe.
"I should hope so."
And now for the dangerous part, the moment when Eli would have to reveal whether or not he planned to kill his daughter. "She told me she'd even killed her brother to protect her country."
Eli stiffened. "She was under my orders," he answered firmly.
Vance nodded slowly. She'd be safe for now, then. If Eli had wanted an excuse to kill her, he would simply have announced it then and there, with reason many would accept. Vance turned to leave.
"Before you go," said Eli, "a gift." He extended a cloth-wrapped frame.
Vance pulled the cover back to reveal an image of them, much younger, standing with a group of world leaders in Amsterdam.
"For your wall," Eli said with a shrug, gesturing to similar pictures that decorated his office.
Vance nodded his thanks, and took his leave. As he crossed the lobby, he nodded to DiNozzo to get the next stage underway.
***
Ziva saw Tony's reflection in the glass of the door. He gave a slight nod, knowing she'd catch it, and they began.
"I had no choice."
"That's a lie."
"Why would I lie to you, Ziva?"
"To save your worthless ass." He raised an eyebrow a hair at the unusual phrase from her.
She slowly approached him.
"From who? Vance? Mossad?" He was disdainful on the last.
"You jeopardized your entire career, and for what?"
"For you." He said it truthfully and could see in her reaction that she knew. "He was playing you, Ziva."
"For some reason you felt it was your job to protect me?"
"I did what I had to do."
"You killed him."
"If I hadn't you'd be having this conversation with him, but maybe that's the way you'd prefer it."
"Perhaps I would." Her words echoed off the stone. They hadn't scripted this, and she could see a hint of fear in his eyes that she might not be lying.
"Why don't you just get this out. Wanna take a punch? Take a swing?" Tony was shouting now. "Get it out of your system! Go ahead! Do it!"
She tossed the barbs back and forth with him, taking him down after a moment, as slowly as she could without making it look fake. She spilled out the details of his report, noting genuine surprise in his face.
"I memorized it!" She spewed on, what he had done, what he could have done.
And Tony said over and over, "you weren't there." And every time it hurt.
"But I should have been!" She finally gasped back, tears blurring her vision.
His face stiffened as he saw the tears. "You loved him."
This wasn't part of the plan, the code. He wasn't talking about Michael anymore.
"I guess I'll never know," she whispered, and stood, ignoring his winces. She looked back once before she reentered the building.
Just inside, she found Vance where he'd been watching through the glass.
He glared at her and she let her posture grow confrontational.
"He hasn't ordered me to stay," she said murmured.
"Nor has he demanded I release you," Vance answered, equally softly, looking away. "But I think you'll be safe here. See if you can't push him further."
Ziva shrugged hostilely and whirled, heading off quickly across the lobby. She took the stairs two at a time and breezed past her father's assistant, the prerogative of no other agent in all of Mossad. She flung open the door to his office.
"You told Michael to stay with me in DC. Why?"
"That is none of your concern."
"I have made it my concern."
"Do not question me, Ziva."
"Was any of it real?" she asked, borrowing the question from Tony after his undercover relationship.
"Does it matter?" He asked rhetorically. "Michael is gone. You must move on."
"It is no longer about him."
"Agent DiNozzo?"
"I need to know if he was right," she cut him off before he could suggest she was involved with
Tony.
"He was jealous."
She hoped he would forget this idea once he heard about their fight. "Even if that were true it does not make him wrong! Now answer me! Was it real?" She pushed, kept pushing until Eli finally raised his voice.
"I expect your loyalty, to me and only me! You want to know Michael's assignment, make this your aliyah! Return to me, to us! You finish what Michael started."
Ziva had a sudden burst of clarity, of calm. All the puzzle pieces of the last months snapped into place. The plan was complete, she knew her role, she had people to trust to watch her back. "Alright," she whispered.
"Yes?" her father said, retaking his seat.
"I just need to ask Gibbs, in the right way, to release me from my commitment there."
Eli raised his eyebrows.
"He is a difficult man to handle. If you ask, he'll resist just to be stubborn. It would make problems."
Her father shrugged. "Very well. I will accompany you to the airport."
She nodded. So he still didn't fully trust her. Well, she didn't need it. "I'll just get my things, I understand the flight leaves in an hour."
"Your things?" her father asked as she reached the door.
"To take home," she said softly.
When he didn't speak again, she took his silence as dismissal and headed out.
There was a comfort to walking the halls of Mossad. Ziva knew every twist and turn, every shortcut. She didn't have to pause and reset her brain to read any of the signs. Every so often she'd pass someone who'd greet her with a smile, a friendly word. This she didn't mind.
She was feeling better than she had in days as she descended the flight of stairs into the dormitory wing where the NCIS team had been told to leave their things. The world was ordered again, and she was glad.
As Ziva turned a corner and crossed the threshold into the sitting room where their bags were, she stopped abruptly.
Vance and Gibbs' bags were gone, but there was Tony with his, its contents strewn about except for a sweatshirt rolled up for use as a pillow. He was half-asleep on a couch but rose as soon as he saw her.
"Tony," she said quickly, holding up a hand to keep him at bay.
"They tried to kill you," he said, softly but fervently. "There's no reason not to try again. Please don't stay. Be as angry as you want, for as long as you want—with me, with them, I don't care--"
Kicking the door shut behind her, Ziva let her hand fall and stepped toward him. She leaned up to lay a single kiss to his lips, pressing closer even as he grabbed her shoulders to hold her there.
Ziva pulled away, grabbed up her own bag and slid the strap over her shoulder.
"Ziva." His voice was pleading.
"Pack up," she whispered without turning to look at him, and left.
***
In the car on the way to the airport, she didn't make eye contact with anyone. There couldn't be anything later to make the agent driving suspect she had been plotting with the others. On the runway, she slowed as the others approached the plane. "Gibbs!" she called out.
Ahead of her she could see Tony jerk to a stop, body taut, and Vance's hand on his shoulder pushing him onward.
"Plane leaves in five minutes, Ziva," Gibbs told her.
"Not without us it doesn't. I think it is best if I speak from the heart." That was their key word. He knew what was coming.
"Yeah, it usually is."
Ziva felt her face constrict with sadness she had not anticipated as she laid out the reason they'd come up with earlier. "I need to be able to trust the people that I work with," she said finally.
Acknowledgment flickered across his face. This, he knew, was her speaking the truth.
"I know you more than anyone understand that."
He glanced toward her father and she nodded.
Gibbs looked back to her, the saddest she'd ever seen him look. Earlier, when they'd agreed on this part of the plan, he'd been quiet. Ziva blinked back dampness from her own eyes.
He leaned to kiss her cheek, a farewell gesture if there ever was one for him, and she knew he thought they might not meet again. She tried to dodge it, but he pressed his lips to her cheekbone for a brief moment.
"Take care of yourself." He walked away.
***
They were silent again while the plane took off, and then a good deal after that, as Tony and Gibbs tried to breathe through their grief.
Finally, Gibbs opened his mouth to speak, but Vance shook his head for silence. Vance rose and crossed the narrow walkway and took out an instrument. He waved it over the package he'd received from Eli and they watched the instrument light up. He looked up at them to confirm they understood, then walked to the front of the plane and gave it to the pilot to hold before sealing the cockpit door again.
"Now he's bugging you?" Gibbs asked when Vance returned to his seat.
"It seemed like he trusted me, but I'll live," Vance said sardonically.
"What did he tell you?" Tony asked shortly.
Vance glanced at him in surprise at the tone, but laid out the details of his meeting. "He wasn't lying about the activity in north Africa. Macy and I have been tracking chatter a while that confirms it. Or rather, tracking silence."
Gibbs nodded. "Well, I'll be in touch with her once we hear from Ziva."
"No," Vance said.
"What?" Gibbs sounded irritated.
"Only the three of us can know about this."
"What about my team?" Gibbs snapped.
Vance sighed. "You know how these things are. The more people know, the less safe Ziva is. And the way Abby and Ducky talk, the secret would never be safe."
"And McGee couldn't keep it from Abby," Tony murmured.
Gibbs glared at him like he wanted to slap him.
"Sorry, Boss. Just playing devil's advocate."
Gibbs looked back to Vance. "Fine."
"If Macy gets relevant information, I'll pass it along."
Gibbs nodded acquiescence.
"So what do we tell them?" Tony asked.
Vance shrugged. "Same story she gave Gibbs. Wanted him to send one of you away."
Gibbs looked uncomfortable, but it was Tony who spoke. "But it's not something he'd do."
"So?" Vance seemed unconcerned. "Hopefully they'll only have to buy it for a little while. We gave Eli the real information Rivkin collected to ensure he wouldn't suspect us or Ziva, but from here on out we should be able to get good information through her and get bad information to Eli through the bug. I hope just as much as you do that this is over soon."
Neither Gibbs nor Tony answered.
Later, when Vance had fallen asleep, Tony took out his phone and flipped it open. Would she be home yet? What time was it there? Was she still...safe?
Gibbs took hold of Tony's wrist, making him look up.
"We'll get her back," he said firmly, then released Tony and closed his eyes.
Tony watched his profile as Gibbs drifted off. He'd heard Gibbs say those words in so many variations and situations over the years that as much as he wanted reassurance, he knew that just Gibbs saying so didn't make it true.
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A/N Well, I used the word 'radically' at the top for a reason! I accept that this is an unlikely interpretation, but I wanted to do more than rehash the episode. I am planning for there to be more chapters to this, but I'll be away for the weekend so no more til Monday or Tuesday. Hope you liked. ~Em