MTAC was unusually quiet. Even though most of the time, all conversations were hushed, especially when missions were taking place, this was a different kind of silence. Director Jenny Shepard watched the footage of different security cameras, trying to find a lead on the Hamas terrorist and/or Ziva. Either one, she did not really care. Taking a sip of her glass of bourbon, she closed her eyes for a second. She should not be drinking on the job, not when the things taking place needed her full attention. But a part of her, not the Director part, but the human part, the woman Jennifer, she wanted to get terribly drunk and curl up in bed, sleeping until this mess was over. Her Director side however did not allow for that to happen. She had an agency to run, missions to oversee. Yet here she was, with only one thing on her mind: How to get Ziva out of this mess. How to bring down Kadira and Farook Esfiri and the girl that was with them and how to prevent Mossad Officer Ziva David from making a deadly mistake.

Jen looked down in her lap, her eyes fixed on a shot of the girl. Other than that picture and a small glimpse on airport security footage, they had not found anything on her. Which was extremely strange. It was as if she did not exist at all. Someone hiding in the shadows around her, someone very stealthy, despite her young age.

So far, they had discovered the security footage of Dulles International Airport that had them arriving in the US. Using different names. They had made a great effort not to be watched by anyone, keeping apart, not even looking at each other when they passed the others on the baggage claim. The image of three complete strangers. The outside cameras had picked them up again, walking away from the airport. The dead man had been using a cell phone, McGee had been able to track down the phone records of the area at the time, there were a lot of phone calls made. By sheer luck, Tony had stumbled over the Taxi driver that had taken on Kadira after she left the airport. Contrary to Tony's impression of Kadira's English, the driver had said she had had a slight French accent, but that her English had been flawless otherwise. He had driven her to a district mainly housing small businesses and enterprises, with a lot of abandoned factories. It would take weeks to search all the buildings.

"Want an aspirin?"

Jenny jumped slightly when she heard the voice and Gibbs sat down beside her. She groaned and looked at him. He had always known when a headache was bothering her. And he had also been the only one to really help with her migraines.

"Already had two. I swear, I'm coming down with the mother of all headaches." she said, and was surprised when he took the glass of bourbon from her.

"Then you shouldn't be drinking this." he told her, putting the glass down. "McGee and Tony found a hide out. Seems like it was used recently, perhaps even by them. Maybe they abandoned it, or they'll come back if the noose around their necks gets tighter." he said, watching the screen with interest.

"Where did we go so horribly wrong, Jethro?" Jen asked, her face glued to the plasma screen. "She was my friend. I trusted her, and she trusted me. When did we lose that?" she sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. Gibbs swallowed hard. His heart had constricted when she asked first, for a moment he had thought she was actually talking about him and her, and not her and Ziva.

"It's hard to be friends and the boss at the same time. At one point, you gotta make a choice and stick to it." he shrugged, turning his head slightly to look at her. She seemed so fragile, broken in a way he had rarely ever seen her. To him, she had always been the though woman and sharp agent. The first time she had cried in front of him had almost broken his heart, she had been so vulnerable back then. And he had realized that she was not invincible. Just like Shannon, she could die, with their jobs, the risk was even higher. So he had started to withdraw from her, lock her out of his heart again, in order to protect himself against the pain he would feel if he lost her. Ironically, it was what had driven them apart in the end. Jen's plan to rise higher in the chain of agents, and his inability to open up to her. But he had never told her how big of a piece of his heart she had held and still did. He had never been able to admit that despite his best efforts, he could not stop himself from loving her so much that it hurt to be apart even for the shortest time. When she had walked out on him, she had broken his heart, and he had done what he had done after Shannon's death. He had married Stephanie in an attempt to get over Jen and recreate what they had had just like he had married Diane to get over Shannon.

"Sometimes I wonder if this-," Jen started and made a gesture that included the room, "-if this is worth it. Sometimes it feels like I gave up too much and gained too little." She looked at him briefly, sadness in her emerald eyes, the women Jennifer shining through before the mask of Director Shepard slipped back in place, and she stood up, crossing her arms over her chest, again watching the camera footage with interest. As quick and unexpected as it had come, the moment was gone. And Gibbs stood himself and walked out of MTAC quietly, leaving her to ponder her decisions and their cost.

TBC