Ziva got a few more inches away from Tony. "I'm not playing this game with you."

"It's not a game and you're not giving me much to work with here." He squinted at their images projected on the laptop sitting on the desk, producing a grotesque effect on his swollen features. She was surprised he could make out anything between his puffy eyelids. "I think I look like lunchmeat. No. Lunchmeat is thinly and evenly sliced. I look like the lump of roast beef they take out of the refrigerator case and lock into the magic meat cutter."

She aimed a kick at the computer, but found she was still two feet short. Moving closer was getting more difficult as more of the sheets covering the floor bunched around the legs of her chair every time she scooted it forward.

"Roast beef sounds really good right about now. No, pastrami. On deli rye with maybe some horseradish, Swiss cheese. And a cold beer or three."

She quickly shifted her weight to prevent herself from toppling over. Just another few inches…

"Big dill pickle, coleslaw…"

She was unable to adjust her balance this time and swore as she hit the floor at an angle made more awkward by the fact that she was still tied securely to the chair.

"Ziva!"

"I'm fine! Go back to your fantasy lunch!" She kept her face turned toward the floor, needing time to compose herself. After a moment, she decided that she would only be dealing with a few more bruises. And that her arm would soon fall asleep if no one propped her chair back up.

She could hear Tony trying to shift his own chair closer to her. "Are you hurt?" When she didn't answer, he continued, "Well, I know you're hurt, but I mean, y'know…you hurt more?"

Rocking from side to side and being careful to keep her fingers out of the way as much as possible, she tipped the chair so she was lying on her back before answering, "I know. I am fine."

He chuckled. "You're like a little turtle."

"What?"

"When you rolled over. Does your head feel funny?"

She suddenly wished she was sitting erect; Tony's eyes looked unfocused, but it was difficult to be sure from her current angle. He had taken several blows to the head not long before. Half an hour ago? An hour? Long enough to tell her that no one had heard her very clear message about their location, anyway, hence her decision to go after the computer. There was a chance that Safad's self-assurance had caused him to overlook something as simple as an internet connection, but she doubted it. Still, it would have been worth the effort to find out. Frustrated with her failure, she muttered, "What was I even going to do? Type with my tongue?"

Tony chuckled again, raising her level of concern for him.

"What?"

"Just thinkin' about things you do well with your tongue."

Before she could ask him how he was feeling, a voice from the doorway hissed, "Disgusting."

"Don't be so negative, Alex." Ziva turned her head to see Safad and another unwelcome presence watching from the gap in the sheets where the door was located. "Officer David has likely attempted an ill-advised escape while Agent DiNozzo demonstrates the effects of head trauma."

She narrowed her eyes as he leaned over her. "The webcam?"

"Did you really think I would allow you to remain here alone with no way of monitoring you?" Safad's arm pressed against the cut on her neck as he grasped the back of the chair and yanked her upright. "Do you know your father-in-law, or are you two meeting for the first time?"

She ignored the renewed warm trickle of blood, concentrating her attention on Alexander Nozdryov, who had seized her chin. "Hmph. Attractive enough, I suppose. Dmitri always had a weakness for women. And money. And power."

"Yup. Real winner, that guy," Tony commented.

Ziva extended her leg with the intention of tripping Nozdryov when he went for Tony, but the older man never made the move, instead continuing to inspect her. "You broke his heart before you murdered him. Do you feel any remorse for killing the man who loved you?"

"I'm right here and she hasn't killed me. Yet."

She felt the corners of her mouth turn up slightly. Tony was pressing his luck, but at least they appeared to be willing to let it go. Safad had promised to trade a relatively unharmed NCIS agent for Sahrawi. She met Nozdryov's eyes. "Dmitri died the way he lived."

Nozdryov's hand tightened on her jaw. "Does that help you sleep at night, Officer David?"

"Trust me, she has no trouble sleeping. She's like a little kitten – if you define kitten as tiger on steroids."

With some effort, she turned her head toward him. "Tony…"

"Yes, listen to her, Agent DiNozzo," Safad said with a mirthless laugh. "She may be a coldblooded murderer, but she isn't stupid."

"Coldblooded, yes," Nozdryov agreed. "Did you look my son in the eye when you killed him? Did you at least give him that much?"

"He was facing me, but he wasn't looking at me." She left out that part that Dmitri's attention had been focused on strangling Tony at the time. She didn't blink as Nozdryov leaned closer. "What do you want?"

"I want you to suffer. Suffer the way you made my son suffer."

"He never told me that you two were close enough to care about revenge."

"Vengeance," Nozdryov corrected, releasing her face as he began to circle the room. "Revenge is for those who do not respect justice. I would be happy to murder your lover if Mr. Safad had not already made a deal for him."

"NCIS is not going to make that trade."

Safad laughed again. "Ah, but you were not there to see the message regarding the exchange delivered. I can assure you that it was most convincing. Hasim will surely be rewarded."

Tony suddenly piped up as Nozdryov passed him, "Aren't you supposed to be in NCIS's custody?"

"You would be shocked what an elderly drunk can accomplish after creating low expectations."

"Hey! I do that same…ugh!"

Ziva nearly tipped her chair over again as Nozdryov slapped Tony, but Safad got there first, grabbing his arm. "Not yet. You can kill him once we have Sahrawi."

"You're supposed to be trading him…" She bit back a yell as she was backhanded across the face.

"Shut up, David," Safad spat, wiping his hand on his pants. "Neither of you are returning to NCIS alive. I don't even know if anyone will be getting anything but your head, in fact." She forced her expression to remain neutral as he slipped a finger into the cut on her neck. "This was a good start. A beheading in stages will be something new for me. Come, Alex. We have other matters that require our attention."

Safad touched his finger, wet with Ziva's blood, to Tony's forehead as he passed.

She couldn't see any difference when Tony turned toward her.