Here we go again...
Chapter 8: Like hell
"Hey Duck, I thought everyone went home last night," he greeted him the next morning when he was back at the agency.
"Everyone did, but I came back at 5'o clock this morning because the psychological profile you wanted kept me up all night," the doctor replied and tiredly sat down on his chair.
"Ziva gave you all the info you needed?" he asked him, not really sure how well Ziva really knew Jenny's daughter.
"She has been a great source, Jethro. Apparently Ziva and Livvy, as Ziva and Jenny call her, were really close until Ziva left for her last Mossad mission. She reminded Ziva of her sister Tali," Ducky nodded. "There was only one important question Ziva couldn't answer me," he went on.
"What?" he asked.
"If you are Livvy's father or not," Ducky said bluntly.
"Is that info really necessary for the profile or are you just curious?" he wanted to know with a small smile.
"I fear it is important, Jethro. Crucial, even." The answer surprised him.
"I can't tell you, Ducky," he shrugged. "It is possible. But why is it so important?"
"You see Jethro, Livvy was not trained to kill. She has the abilities, yes, but not the emotional strength. From what I gathered she is a very gentle soul, very compassionate and with an incredible ability for empathy. That's why she cried when she tortured her victims. In a way, she was suffering with them," Ducky started explaining. "However she did it, because she felt she had to do it. They knew something she needed to know. After the first three however she must have reached a stage where she doesn't care anymore if it is really necessary to torture and kill. She took out those three hit men simply because she could. She reached the stage of taking revenge and if that fits into her task, she will do it."
"So, she's not only after information anymore?" he summed up what he had just learned.
"No, she 's not. She's programmed herself to kill and that is dangerous. Depending on who else she blames for her mother's death, we all might be in danger, each and every one of us," the doctor said concerned.
" I found a note last night at Jenny's grave. It said "Semper fi", Duck'. She won't come after us." he shook his head and refused to believe it.
"Quite the opposite, Jethro. For you it's the Marine honor code, but for her it's most likely a promise her mother gave her. It meant they would face everything together, no matter what, just like the Marines. Now Jenny is dead and the poor child is alone. If she promises her mother to be 'always faithful' I fear she is well aware that she is avenging her death." He had to admit that Ducky's explanation made sense- and it scared him.
"Did you find out why she started this now?" he changed the topic, refusing to think about the danger longer.
"No," Ducky shook his head. "I know however something must have triggered it. Something that scared her so much that she even overcame her fear to kill, developed the ability to torture. That fear consumes her, like it consumed Jenny. However there's a difference," Dr. Mallard pointed out. "While Jenny was a woman on a mission, who had seen enough and done enough to not think twice about what she was doing, her daughter is scared out of her mind- scared of herself. That's why she wrote that message on the shower wall. It wasn't really meant for anyone. More a plea to someone out there in the universe to help her and save her- from whoever she is searching- and from herself."
"Any ideas where she might go next?"
"If Ziva is right Livvy doesn't know the city very well. She's been here last at Jenny's funeral, but only for a day. She would most likely seek familiar places at one point or another.
"Jenny's house and her grave," he nodded.
"Ziva didn't know what hotel she stayed in when she flew in for the funeral, but I think you'll be able to find out," he finished.
"Thanks Duck," he said and left autopsy to start the hunt.
When he reached the bullpen he just wanted to give out orders to his team when he saw a familiar figure climb down the stairs together with Vance. He felt Ziva tense beside him.
"Director David was kind enough to fly in to help us finding Joelle and to make sure she wouldn't get harmed," Leon told them and he needed only one look at Vance to know that even he didn't believe his own words.
"Yipee," Tony said sarcastically, not even trying to hide his aversion.
"Agent DiNozzo," Eli David greeted him with a small smile, like he hadn't heard the comment. "Ziva," he turned to his daughter, who was still standing beside him behind her desk. He actually stepped forward in an attempt to hug her. Ziva stepped away however and went over to where Tony and McGee stood with crossed arms. Like a protective bodyguard Tony stepped halfway in front of her. Surely Ziva wouldn't get into a fistfight with her father, but it was the gesture that counted. DiNozzo had been the one responsible for Ziva's rescue and he made it clear he wouldn't deal with any crap from her father again.
Eli David looked taken aback by his daughter's silence, but remained quiet himself. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife.
"I didn't mean to keep you from your work, Agent Gibbs," David said then, motioning with his hand for them to go on with their tasks.
"I wouldn't let you," he growled and decided to ignore him for now.
"McGee, Joelle attended her mother's funeral. Because we have no photo of her so far I want you to go through all the video footage of the funeral and find her," he instructed and McGee nodded and hurried off. "Tony, Ziva, find out where she stayed when she came for the funeral and get me a list of all places she might know in town." Again the two agents only nodded and went back to their desks. They didn't need to talk to each other, each knew what he had to do.
"Agent Gibbs, maybe I could help with something. I raised Joelle, after all," Eli David offered and glared in Ziva's direction when she snorted loudly.
"Thanks, Deputy Director David, but we got it covered," he replied overly friendly.
"Eli, we should get back to my office and talk about Joelle's past a bit," Vance intervened before the Israeli could speak again.
"Very well, Leon," he had to agree and the two men walked off again.
"The less he knows the better," Ziva hissed angrily in his direction, watching the two directors climbing the stairs.
"I agree," Tony mumbled and was by Ziva's side again.
He watched his two agents for a moment as they worked side by side at Ziva's desk and hoped that Tony wouldn't miss his chance like he had missed his with Jen'.
"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs, we found her," Abby said later that day, while she clapped her hands and jumped up and down like an excited child.
"You found her?" he asked stunned and felt his pulse quicken.
"She means on the video, boss," Mc Gee clarified and he felt the disappointment settle in. "One of the news stations still had old footage of the funeral and we found shots of the guests who attended. At first we weren't sure, but she's one of three kids there," he explained their process.
"She looks like Jenny," Abby gushed and then blew up the background of the video that was playing. Zooming in, the face of a girl became visible. She wore large, dark sunglasses and a silk scarf hid most of her dark curls.
"One can't really see much, Abs," he said, disappointed for the second time.
"Wait for it," she just grinned and McGee fast forwarded the video to the moment when the mass had been over and all the guests got up. He saw himself standing at Jenny's casket, Tony, Abby, McGee and Ziva at his side. He saw the child walking up to the casket just as they turned around. She had taken off the sunglasses and was wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. He walked right past her without even seeing her and remembered that he had been in a hurry to get out of there and away from all the people who were just pretending to grieve for Jenny.
The girl's eyes however were on him and she stared at him as he walked towards her and then past her. He saw that Ziva gently squeezed Joelle's hand as she passed her and that Joelle squeezed back.
"McGee can you roll that back again?" he asked and the agent did it. Again he saw Joelle walking towards him, staring at him. "Freeze it," he ordered and walked closer to the monitor.
She had Jenny's nose, Jenny's lips, even the form of her face was inherited from her beautiful mother. She had the same light tone of her skin, the same long lashes. And her eyes. She had Jenny's green eyes, that he knew so well. The expression in them he wasn't familiar with however. Never had Jenny looked at him with so much hatred in her eyes as the girl did in this picture on the screen.
He wasn't scared anymore, now that he knew for sure that his name was on her list. It only broke his heart- and it hurt like hell.
TBC