Okay so I thought I would try something a little bit different for this chapter, writing more than just the Tony and Ziva point of view, I'm not quite sure what I think of it, not sure whether I like it or not, so please, tell me what you think! Another shorter chapter, but hopefully quality makes up for length...
Sixteen
Ziva put the car in park in her normal parking spot outside of NCIS the next morning and took the key out of the ignition. She got out of the car and went around to Tony's side, just in case he needed help. He was definitely getting steadier on his feet, but he wasn't all the way there yet.
She wrapped her arm around his waist and slammed the car door shut. Tony smiled and reached out to hold her hand.
"To the burrito truck!" Tony exclaimed, smiling brightly.
Ziva laughed lightly. "Lead the way."
Tony started toward the front of the building, where the food truck was parked. The crisp air of the morning made the scents coming from the truck even more mouth-watering than normal. Ziva smiled as she followed him, looking at their joined hands as he pulled her toward his favorite food truck. She had learned to appreciate small, joyful moments like this, because the bad always greatly outweighed the good.
Ziva's quick reflexes came in handy a moment later when Tony stopped suddenly in front of the food truck and she narrowly avoided colliding with his back. She stood beside him, looking up at the menu.
"What is in the breakfast burrito?" Ziva asked.
"Egg, cheese, sausage, and onions." Tony told her.
Ziva felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and she took it out to look at the caller ID.
"It's McGee, order me a burrito without sausage please." Ziva said as she stepped away.
She hit talk and held the phone up to her ear. "McGee?" She asked.
"We found him, Max Clemens, we're getting ready to go pick him up now." McGee told her.
"Where?" Ziva asked shortly.
As McGee gave her the coordinates, she could hear Gibbs grabbing his things in the background.
"I'll meet you there." She said before hitting the end call button.
She walked back over to Tony quickly. "I have to go, you get upstairs or go down to Abby's lab. I love you." She said before kissing him on the cheek and running off to get in her car.
Tony stood still for a moment, trying to process what just happened before he grabbed the burritos and headed for the front door. He walked over to the elevator and hit the call button. The doors slid open after a few seconds and closed behind him. They opened again a moment later on the eighth floor and Tony stepped out.
He collided with Gibbs, flanked by McGee as they were rounding the corner.
"What are you doing here?" McGee asked.
"Me and Ziva were down at the food truck getting breakfast." Tony told him.
"Where is she?" Gibbs asked.
Tony shrugged. "She said she had to go, told me to come up here, so I did. She's already gone."
Gibbs looked back at McGee who nodded knowingly.
"She was right, go sit down DiNozzo." Gibbs told him before leading McGee into the elevator.
Tony watched as the elevator doors closed and turned to go sit at his desk.
XXXXX
The elevator doors closed behind them and they stood, waiting impatiently as the elevator sank to the ground floor.
The doors opened and they both broke into a sprint to the parking lot, fearing two things – that Ziva wouldn't find Clemens in the woods, or that she would find him. They didn't know which would end worse.
Gibbs and McGee slammed the car doors shut as they got in. Gibbs shoved the key into the ignition and sped out of the NCIS parking lot.
"You don't think she'd seriously hurt him do you boss?" McGee asked as he watched Gibbs drive.
Gibbs looked over at him. "I think she'll do what she needs to do to protect him."
McGee nodded. "Take this left."
XXXXX
Tony hadn't even been sitting at his desk for five minutes when he heard the elevator ding and looked up to watch Abby and Ducky walking toward him.
Abby sat down on the corner of his desk, while Ducky rolled McGee's chair toward him.
"Hi." Tony said as he unwrapped his burrito.
Abby smiled. "How are you feeling?" She asked.
Tony shrugged. "As good as I can I guess."
Abby and Ducky shared a look.
"What are you guys doing up here?" He asked slowly.
Ducky pursed his lips, trying to decide what the best answer would be. "We haven't seen you in almost a week, we decided to come visit."
"How did you know I was here?" Tony asked.
Abby bit her lip. "The food truck is parked outside my lab. I saw you and Ziva, and then when McGee called to tell her we found your second attacker…" Abby trailed off.
"You found him?" Tony asked.
Abby nodded. "Yeah… his name is Max Clemens."
"Is he a sailor?" Tony asked.
Ducky shook his head no. "Quite the opposite actually." He told him. "No military background, in his life or his family, never been on a vacation, he's never been issued a passport… he's never left the United States."
Tony nodded silently.
"They're gonna get him Tony." Abby told him softly.
"Hopefully."
XXXXX
Ziva gripped the steering wheel tightly as she raced down a dirt road not too far from the Navy Yard. She watched as the arrow on her GPS got closer and closer to the coordinates McGee had given her.
She hit the brakes when she saw an abandoned-looking mobile home about a hundred yards away. She pushed the gearshift into park and got out of the car.
Trying to move as quietly as she could, so she didn't let Clemens know she was there, Ziva took off toward the house.
She hid herself behind a large tree as she surveyed the area. She saw a red pick-up truck behind the dull grey house, which probably meant there was a back door. She counted four windows from which Clemens had the possibility of spotting her through before she got close enough to hide again.
She pulled her gun out of its holster and checked to make sure Clemens wasn't looking outside before she took off again, aiming for another tree to conceal herself for a moment.
She made it without incident and repeated the process once, twice, three more times before she could partially see into the house.
Clemens definitely wasn't looking out the windows for her, he was completely oblivious, sitting watching television.
Ziva was surprised that this place even had electricity, never mind cable.
She jogged over to the trailer, ducking down under the windows as she moved toward the steps leading to the front door.
Her muscles tightened as her Mossad training began to kick in. She was tense enough to make her walk quietly, but loose enough to move quickly. She crept her way up the stairs and reached out to open the front door.