Chapter Five
It was the nightmare that haunted him most lately. Tommy Mills was being torture with a pair of pliers right in front of him. The Chechens made Tony watch. It was physical torture for Mills and emotional torture for Tony. Tommy was screaming in his dreams. With each new torture, he screamed. Tony couldn't take it any longer and started screaming. He was screaming in his dream, but soon he was screaming in his bed.
Ziva heard the screams and came running into his bedroom with her gun drawn. She saw him tossing and turning in his bed caught in a nightmare. His forehead and torso bathe in sweat. She put her Sig Sauer on the table beside the bed. Sitting down on the side of the bed, she gentle shook him, but that didn't wake him. Ziva then shook him hard enough to wake him from his nightmare.
"Nooo!" he screamed and sat up come face to face with Ziva.
He stared into her eyes and for a moment neither one of them moved or spoke. It was an uncomfortable silence, but a man and woman recognizing their attraction for each other.
"You were having a nightmare," she said.
"Yeah, it happens now and then," he said.
With his right hand, he wiped the sweat away from his forehead, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her. He looked at Ziva, who was wearing one of his OSU tee shirts as a nightshirt. Her hair was down and wild and her eyes were smoldering.
"Thank you," he said softly.
"You say it with words this time," she smiled.
"Did you like it better when I said it with actions?" he asked her with a slight smile.
She smiled. Tony reached up and put his right hand in her hair. When she didn't resist he cupped the back of her head to move her lips closer to his lips. They kissed, at first tentative, but they their desire and passion exploded. Tony pulled her tee shirt off, while Ziva reached into his sweatpants and grabbed hold of him. Her smile turned it a moan of desire. Tony started breathing heavily.
"God," he gasped, as she moved her hand slowly up and down his erection making it harder.
Not caring about his stitches, he grabbed hold off her and tossed her onto her back then he began to suck on her right nipple feeling it become erect in his mouth.
"Tony," she moaned his name.
He moved from one breast to the other, as his right hand moved between her legs and began slowly to massage her. As she became more excited and moist, Tony began to position himself so he could enter her. He shifted his mouth from her breasts to her mouth. They began to devour each other. In the back of his mind as he started to make love to her, he hoped that this just wasn't something else he could fuck up.
TWO ROADS
When he woke in the morning, Ziva's head was resting on his chest and her right leg was draped across his groin. He couldn't help but break out in a smile. For a night of passionate lovemaking, it was one of the best of his life. Yet, there was something more to it. He couldn't explain it, but his attraction to this woman was deeper than an appreciation for her beauty. He just didn't know what to call it.
He kissed the top of her head and she moved a bit on his rubbing her body against his. He took a deep breath as he felt himself starting to react just to her presence and slight movement. Ziva woke up and felt his surge of desire, so she began to suck on his nipples. He moaned this time. Ziva then looked at his clock. They needed to get ready for work. She stopped.
"No one can know about us," she told him.
Tony wasn't sure what the hell she meant. The last time he checked they were both adults. They weren't even in the same agency.
"What do you mean no one can know about us?" he asked.
"No one can know about us. Gibbs has rules and one of them is no dating a co-worker. Rule 12. You are a co-worker right now. Plus, I don't want anyone to know about us, even if the rule didn't exist," she said.
What she said annoyed Tony. He wanted her but he wasn't sure he wanted to be her secret.
"Why don't you want anyone to know about us?" he asked.
"I have not had the best luck with men. Let us keep this quiet right now," she said.
"So what am I your fuck buddy?" he asked.
"Fuck Buddy?" she said.
"Yeah. Whenever you want to get laid you look me up," he explained.
"No, you are not my fuck buddy, but you are my secret," she said then smiled. "For now."
She sat up letting the sheet fall from her body. He wanted to argue with her but when he saw her in the morning light sitting naked in his bed his mind kind of went blank. Ziva noticed his bandage. He had been bleeding.
She leaned down and gently kissed him.
"You must have popped a stitched last night from our roll in the bed," she said.
Her smile was sly and sexy and made him want to pop more stitches. He couldn't believe how easily this woman could turn his head.
"I will get alcohol, antibiotic cream, and bandages and change you before we go to work," she said.
She caressed his cheek then lightly slapped it three times.
"Remember, at work we are not lovers," she said then she got up and he watched her perfect ass exit his bedroom.
"Jesus, DiNozzo, what the hell are you getting into," he said softly to himself.
TWO ROADS
Having ruined two suits and been shot, Tony decided to wear jeans, a grey shawl collared sweaters and his leather bomber jacket. He doubted Tobias would be sending him into the field. In the elevator the way to work, Ziva turned, took a fistful of Tony's sweater, and kissed him.
"No one is to know about us," she told him.
She let go of him then turned as the elevator doors opened. She walked out with Dinozzo on her tail into the bullpen.
"Tony, you okay?" asked Agent Ruiz.
"I'm peachy," he said.
"You have a way of getting into trouble, DiNozzo," said Sacks.
"Thanks, Slacks," he said.
Agent Sacks, who was working with McGee, rolled his eyes. Fornell and Gibbs looked over at Ziva and Tony.
"How are you feeling?" Fornell asked Tony.
"I'm fine," he said.
"We need to set a protect detail for you," Gibbs said.
"I will do it, Gibbs. You partnered me with him and I am the most qualified to do it," Ziva said, as she put her bag down and took her coat off.
Tony blew out a stream of air then thought about protesting.
"If it works for you, Jethro, it works for me," said Fornell.
"We'll let it stand for now, Tobias," said Gibbs.
"I need some coffee," said Tony.
He turned around and walked over to his desk on the other side of partition. In the top right hand draw of his desk, he locked up his Glock and then tossed his coat over his chair. With that done, he walked off to the break where there was a coffeemaker and coffee.
He had to admit that Ziva had his head spinning, but he guessed it was best to focus on finding Shahi right now. Finding the break room, Tony poured himself a cup of coffee then added the cream and sugar. Instead of returning to the bullpen, he sat down. There were a few NCIS agent sitting and talking while enjoying a coffee or tea.
Thoughts of turning in his badge and FBI ID played in his head. It had been a hard few years during work he'd never thought he'd ever do when he was a homicide detective. He knew it was important work he did and someone had to do it, but damn if it hadn't taken it out of him. He was on the verge of being burned out. Maybe that was why Ziva got under his skin so easily. It was as good as an answer as love at first sight.
Tony sipped his coffee. He knew that Fornell would either send someone for him eventually or come himself. There would be no contemplating leaving the FBI if they would just let him be part of Fornell's team. He looked over at the door and saw Ziva stick her head through the door. She smiled when she saw him. It was the kind a smile, which made Tony's heart beat faster. She walked over to his table.
"Fornell was wondering where you went off to for so long," she said.
"Drinking coffee and wondering about my future," he said.
She sat down across from him.
"What future would that be?" she asked him.
"My FBI future," he said. "Between undercover work, four overseas, and shit I can't even talk about I just want to be a simply investigator again."
"That is what you are right now with Fornell's team," she said.
"Yeah, but for how long? I'm everybody's favorite do things outside of the box agent. I'm bound to be called in and offered another assignment that a sane man would refuse. Unfortunately, so far I haven't refuse them," he said.
"When I was Mossad my father called on me to do things that a father should never have a daughter do. I assassinated men, seduced them, interrogated them using methods you would call torture. I started believing that was who I was until I came here as a liaison. I can understand how you feel," she said.
"We needed to find this Shahi. I suppose they pulled my files from Iraq and Afghanistan and that's what they want to talk to be about," he said.
Ziva nodded her headed: "Director Vance has them and is looking through them.
She reached over with her left hand and softly touched his right hands.
"He will want to see you once he reads them," she said.
"Sounds like fun. So, what is Vance like?" he asked.
"He likes covert ops and secrets," she smiled. "He is a friend of my father. Gibbs seems to trust him, though."
"Well, I look forward to talking to him," said Tony.
TWO ROADS
Thomas Reed was the Under Secretary for Political Affairs for Department of State. He had chosen Plume in DuPont Circle to have a business lunch with an Ambassador from Iraq. With the current fear of a rogue sniper, the Secret Service had taken over security for several important individuals. The lunch went well enough and when it was finished, the Iraq Ambassador left first then the Secret Service escorted Reed to his awaiting limo outside of the restaurant.
As they opened the door for him, Reed's chest exploded. The Secret Service pulled their weapons and scanned the area. Shahi had his second important victim.
TWO ROADS
Since Shahi more than likely wanted him dead, Tony was left behind when they got the call about Reed. Instead of investigating, he was called up to Vance's office for a debriefing. Entering the office, he saw Leon Vance sitting at a long conference table with several files in front of him. Tony came in, sat down, and waited for Vance to look up from his reading.
As Tony watched him, he wondered who'd play Vance in the movie. Would it be Terence Howard or Don Cheadle?
"You have had a colorful and eventful career at the FBI, Agent DiNozzo," Vance.
"I'm not sure how to respond to that," said Tony.
"You don't have to respond," said Vance as he leaned back in his chair and looked at Tony.
"I don't think it's the bomb maker, but the head of the kidnapping ring was Talib Hasan. He is on number seven on the top ten most wanted. The kidnapping ring financed some of his work and you cut that funding off," said Vance.
"We have to find a connection between Hasan and Shahi, so we can trace Hasan," Tony said.
"We'll find him Agent DiNozzo," said Vance.
"I take it you are pushing to have NCIS take the lead on this," Tony said.
Vance smiled: "NCIS may be a small agency in comparison to the FBI, Agent DiNozzo, but we have our uses."
"Agent Fornell is a big fan of Agent Gibbs, so much so that they now share an ex-wife," smirked Tony.
"I heard Gibbs once offered you a job," said Vance.
"He did but Fornell convinced me that the FBI would never be boring," said Tony.
"Well, if you ever get bored at the FBI, I bet NCIS could find some things to keep you busy," Vance said.
Tony smiled.