Sorry for not adding anything on Wednesday. Uni has been hell. And then I went through all of the chapters for this story and realized that some were in the wrong order. Now I'll shut up and leave you to read. Enjoy.

Ziva David wanted to strangle her partner. Why on earth did he have to go clubbing when he knew they had to come to work the next day? And why did he not think to have some painkillers in his desk or at home? Anthony DiNozzo would pay for this.

"Can you not just grab something? You do not need me here." she hissed at him when he scanned the shelves.

"I may not need you here, Zee-vah, but I value my life. You heard Gibbs, as long as the Trio Infernale is not locked away safely; you are not be left alone at any point in time. If something happened to you, Gibbs would kill me, and then personally kick my butt to hell." her partner joked, flashing a grin at her. Ziva almost smiled back at the image his words created, but suddenly she felt like she was being watched. Her smile faltered, her hand going to her gun on instinct, brushing the cool metal. Tony watched her, frowning.

"Something wrong?" he asked her, his voice low. Ziva went to shake her head, but then decided against it.

"When I first came here, you remember? The case we had, with the guy in the coffin from the Civil War?" she asked Tony, looking around on full alert. Tony nodded. "When McGee and I went to that bank, I had the feeling of being watched. I shrugged it off because I thought it was just still me getting used to crowded places in the US. But I was right, we were being watched. When we went out-"

"The guy held you at gunpoint, demanded the map and pushed you in the pool." Tony finished for her. Ziva nodded.

"I have the same feeling now." she told him. Immediately, Tony took his sunglasses off and unholstered his gun. He opened Ziva's jacket slightly and was relieved to find she had actually followed the Director's orders and was wearing a bulletproof vest.

"We're out of here. Come on, you go first, I've got your back." he told her. Ziva hesitated and shook her head.

"What if they are waiting outside?" she whispered. Her partner frowned at her before cursing softly. Tony had not considered that possibility. He had thought that whoever was watching them would have followed them into the store, not be waiting outside to strike. He nodded to Ziva's gun and she took it out, while he holstered his, pulling a few bills from his wallet and grabbed a bottle of Tylenol off the shelf.

"What are you doing?" Ziva hissed at him when he took out his badge, too.

"We'll find a shop assistant, and use the back door. Or do you have a better idea?" he asked her. Ziva opened her mouth to protest, but then shrugged. He had a point, if they were waiting for them outside, she did not want to be trapped in here, waiting for them to get themselves killed.

When they had found the shop assistant, and Tony paid them, Ziva took a look around the shop. She heard another assistant ask a customer, and turned her back, nodding her thanks to the assistant as he told them to just use the door since it was open and the alarm turned off. When she heard the other customer answer the assistant, Ziva froze in her steps, her hand shooting out to stop Tony from walking into the direction of the exit - and the voice.

"What's wrong now?" Tony asked, but Ziva put her index finger to her lips, shushing him. She turned her head slightly, hoping to catch more of the conversation. It was held in English, but Ziva could detect an Arabic accent, making the English words sound harsher and a little clipped. And what was more important, she recognized the voice. A feeling of warmth flooded her, before she realized that Kadira had no intention whatsoever to have a family reunion, and the hug she would get would be more so the Palestine woman could stab her than out of affection. Ziva opened her mouth, but one look at her partner, and she knew that she could not wave this off. She would expose him to the threat, too, not just herself. And she would do anything to protect Tony.

An answer from her, however, was unnecessary. Tony himself had heard the voice, not recognizing it, but the accent was familiar. He knew they were in deep trouble. Chances were the woman from the alley had not noticed them yet, and they still had the factor of surprise on their side. Then again, while Ziva had been trained by Mossad, she had grown up in Gaza. Were it was an essential skill to quickly estimate your surroundings and figure out routes of escape. No, she knew perfectly well that Ziva and he were here. Otherwise she would speak louder. Tony drew his gun and turned the safety off, ready to shoot at first sight.

"Tony..." Ziva whispered, her eyes pleading with him. From what she had said in the squad room, and the way she had broken down in front of them it was clear how much the young woman had once meant to her. He could understand that Ziva wanted to protect her to some degree. But she was an international terrorist. Who apparently was on a mission to kill Ziva. No, he would not protect anyone if that meant risking Ziva's life. Not in a thousand years.

So he shook his head at her, putting his index finger on his lips. He inched forward, steeling a glance at the aisle they both had been in shortly before, quickly assessing the situation. A female woman, late thirties, clad in one of the uniforms belonging to the drug store was talking to another younger woman clad in jeans and a dark shirt. She had her dark hair up in a ponytail. When Tony wanted to withdraw, she turned her head slightly, and their gazes locked. Shit.

"NCIS, freeze!" Tony shouted, stepping into the aisle, his gun pointing at the woman. The assistant screamed and dropped to the ground. Kadira sported a slight frown, irritated by the other woman's reaction. She glanced down at her, causing Tony to follow her line of sight. Which was long enough for her to draw her own weapon.

"Checkmate." she said, her accent making the word sound foreign to Tony's ears. He could not resist the small smirk that came to his lips.

"I not stupid. I seen her." Kadira said, quick to make Tony realize that she had indeed spotted both of them, Ziva and him. And deciding against using proper English. There was no reason in having him know that with an effort, she could keep the accent out of her voice almost completely, and form grammatically correct sentences. No need to give them a better description of her for the motels and police to watch out for. As far as she was aware of, Ziva had no idea of how good or bad her English and other language skills were, one advantage of the lack of contact over the last few years.

"Please. Please, let me go." the shop assistant whined, and Tony was tempted just to shoot her because she got on his nerves. Kadira kicked to her side, hitting the woman in the stomach, the message very clear. Shut up, or this is the last thing you have said. In the distances, a police siren could be heard. Kadira backed out of the aisle slowly, her eyes trimmed on Tony. Who was wondering where Ziva had disappeared to. When Kadira turned, he decided it didn't matter, and shot at her. The young woman, having anticipated his reaction, was too quick and ducked out of the line of the bullet. When she reached the door, she smacked right into a lithe figure, causing them both to drop to the ground. Her eyes locked with those of Ziva, both women freezing in place. Kadira stared before grabbing the supplies she had dropped, and sprinting out of the drug store, leaving Ziva to stare after her, gun drawn, unable to pull the trigger.

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