Healer
All day working hard in the field, surveillance then attack then interrogation then arrest THEN paper work. All of the agents on agent Gibbs' team were relieved that it was Friday. Ziva had quickly dashed out in to the elevator hoping to get a night in with her kitten and her book. Gibbs had held her up asking about paperwork and Ducky after him, blabbering about bridge. She finally escaped to her car and sped home.
After a shower and a glass of wine and Ziva was curled up on her couch with her kitten Alea curled up on her lap, she was reading a book and the lights were dim and the apartment was silent and calm until the doorbell rang, her kitten dug her claws in to her thigh and Ziva reached for her gun. It was 9:50pm who could be calling at this hour? She jumped as her cell phone rang.
"Yes?"
"Ziva it's me! Are you home? I am breaking in."
Seconds later Tony was in her living room, wearing a hoodie and jeans. He grinned at her appearance, the sweat pants and tank top was very casual for her even.
"What do you want Tony?"
"Road works were holding me up to get home so I decided on a detour to see my favourite fluffy animal."
"Not me I hope." Ziva scowled at him
"No, no it's Alea." He ruffled the kitten's fur making her purr loudly then he sat on the couch beside Ziva.
"Go away Tony. I am tired."
He felt hurt by that but decided to seem in a mood that favoured hilarity.
"Zee-vah you don't want me hauled up in traffic do you?"
She thought for a moment then nodded and returned to her book. Tony sighed then yawned and stretched. Then scratched his head, Ziva noticed his body language and narrowed her eyes at him. She put her book down by her side and cleared her throat so he turned from her small DVD collection to look at her.
"What aren't you telling me?" She asked him curiously, he approached the couch an innocent look on his face.
"Nothing, nothing at all" Tony muttered innocently and sat on the coffee table across from her seat.
She tilted her head at him and sighed impatiently.
He took this as a sign and leaned forwards
"A few months ago Abby found large deposits in Karl Lanron's off shore bank account from an anonymous account lately she has been monitoring any action on the account and last week we noticed some small usage of it. The person has been using a connected card to purchase small products, like gum and candy in particular."
Ziva blinked. This was a mindful. She sat up and put her feet on the floor. Her reaction immediately made Tony feel guilty and he flailed his thoughts round his mind franticly as she bowed her head.
"Where are they?" She asked with an unusually steady voice.
"East Virginia. Gibbs and McGee are there now." He tried to remain blunt and emotionless so she could copy the example.
"So close?" Her voice cracked with a taste of real fear.
He watched her as she fidgeted and then stood up and pace a little.
"What if they try me again or worse what if they hurt one of you?"
"Ziva…"
"I am not prepared to make that sacrifice Tony and I don't care if you are willing because I am not!"
"Ziva…"
"You just sit there and expect me to not do anything! Well don't!" She walked for the door grabbing her coat.
"Ziva you can't go out now-" He rolled his eyes at the spot she had been "Hey! Ziva?" He jumped up and rushed to the door.
"Meeew!"
He spun round to look at the little kitten who was staring at him.
"Oh okay c'mon." He sighed and scooped her up in to her jacket. Tony caught Ziva in the parking lot, he shut the door as she was about to climb in to the car.
"What?" She snapped
"Ziva, you need to listen to me!" He grinned and leaned against the car between it and her. "We found the guy. Tall, male, mid 40's."
"Did you bring him in?" She asked
"Yeah, yeah we bought him in." he sighed and leaned forward "He is with Ducky."
"Ducky? He's…He's dead." Ziva sighed
Tony nodded and opened the car door and got in to the driver's seat. "Yep he's dead, Ducky thinks murder. Keys."
She stared down sceptically at him. "You bought the cat."
"We can't leave her alone." He pouted "Keys."
"She is a cat not a child." Ziva sighed "I'm driving, your kitty sitting."
He sighed and switched seats with her, taking the kitten with him to the passenger seat.
"Just try and drive legally, okay?" Tony growled and buckled himself in.
Gibbs stared over the x-rays on the board, at the fractured and broken bones that showed the ferocity which he had been killed with. Ducky was giving him the run down on the external exam but he wasn't properly listening. They had been working this case for months now. Without the knowledge of the director or Ziva, they had been following hundreds of linked bank accounts and chased down petty cash and criminals. Now this was the first, best lead they had ever had and that lead was dead and the person who pushed him through the 25th floor window was now at large with hardly any physical evidence for Abby to scan. Now they had met a dead end and confidence was down in the team.
"To the point Duck." Gibbs prompted Doctor Mallards blabbering.
"Yes Jethro. I understand your urgency with this particular case." Ducky Sighed and began to remove his gloves. "It seems with both my findings and Abigail's, we can safely conclude that this man was pushed after a struggle."
"So it was murder." Gibbs sighed
"It seems so. And the perpetrator seems to be impossible to find." Ducky looked at Gibbs over his glasses. "I am sorry Jethro that is the best we can do."
"Oh hell Ducky this perp has to have left something behind. " Gibbs threw his own gloves in to the bin and walked out of autopsy
Back in the squad room Tony and Ziva had arrived. McGee was running through the photos with Ziva while Tony put a damper explaining that this guy was a complete ghost.
"Not a complete ghost DiNozzo." Gibbs projected across the squad room he then stopped and looked around at them all "What are we all doing here on a Friday night?"
"Lack of interest in our social life." Tony sighed
"We got something boss?" McGee asked
"No, nothing at all, that's why we are going back over everything. McGee go back over the footage, match every face to every employee records. Find a name for everyone. Ziva, Tony with me." Gibbs opened his draw and pulled out his badge and gun.
"Where are we going?" Tony asked Gibbs as he grabbed his back pack.
"Back to the crime scene." Gibbs called heading to the elevator
"Finding a ghost." Tony muttered to Ziva as they hurried to follow him.
"Guys? Hey guys are you just going to leave your cat here?" McGee called, but they were already gone. He looked down at the small kitten that had approached his desk he then gave a violent sneeze that made the small creature jump and run off behind Tony's desk to hide. He hurried to pick up his phone and dialled Abby's lab number, his eyes still fixed on the tail that was poking out from behind Tony's desk.
Ziva picked her way over the broken glass that covered parts of the apartment floor. The lights were low quality so she shined he torch over the broken fragments.
"Tony?" She called over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off the fragment of glass she was looking at.
He approached her from next-door and leaned over the glass she was pointing the light at.
"Is that discoloured?" He asked
"That's what I thought." She sighed "We have to get all of this back to Abbey."
"Right, I'll get some boxes."
Once Tony had left, Ziva picked up the discoloured shard and held it up to the light. It was a small triangular fragment and it was less jagged then the other shards. She put it in its own specimen bag and labelled it Stained glass?
Two hours later and 3 cuts on Tony's fingers later all the glass was boxed up. Gibbs had finished scouring the street below where the body had hit the ground and had already headed back with the glass Ziva was so suspicious about. It was now past midnight and Ziva was finding it hard to keep her eyes open.
"Ouch." Tony cut his finger again over the last slice. "Ah, Ziva new Evidence bag, we have to store all the evidence I have contaminated separately." He put the shard in the bag that Ziva was holding out then stripped off the gloves he was wearing and stood to leave.
"Are we done?" She asked him as he scoured the room with his flash light.
"Yeah," He replied "Let's pack it up."
Back to the truck and with Tony driving they headed back to NCIS.
"We can stop for coffee here." Tony said and pulled over. "Stay in the car Ziva ."
A few minutes passed as Ziva waited for Tony. A shadowy figure was walking past the window. Ziva clicked the locks shut and lowered herself in to the seat. Another shadow lingered by the driver's side window. They knocked on the glass. The windows were too fogged up to see the face. Ziva put her hand on her gun and leaned back.
"Ziva it's me! Open the door!" Tony's voice called.
She swore under her breath and unlocked the door from her side. He climbed in the car, shivering a bit because his jumper wasn't warm enough to protect him from the chilly air.
"You scared the hell out of me." She sighed and leaned back in the chair and buckled up her seat belt, Tony handed her, her coffee and sipped his own.
"Sorry, I forgot my keys." He sighed and started up the engine. They pulled out of the creepy street and headed back to NCIS.
McGee's fingers were madly sprawling over the key board. The image of the bald man's face confused him. The man had no name in the employment records or in any visitor's log. He had run him through AFIS and was now widening his search.
"McGee, tell me you've got something." Gibbs called as he walked through the squad room towards McGee's desk.
"I've got something boss!" He replied excitedly. "This guy isn't a visitor to the building or an employee. I am running through everything."
"Where are DiNozzo and Ziva?" He asked thumping down his coffee.
"Right here boss!" Tony called and skulked around his desk to hide his overly sweetened caffeinated drink.
*Beep beep*
"Boss I got a name! It's Ralf Cornate!" McGee jumped up excitedly
"McGee address!" Gibbs clicked his fingers urgently and McGee handed him the sticky note with the address scrawled on it.
"Tony, Ziva, stay here!"
The both dropped their gear that they had already grabbed and began to protest.
Gibbs ignored them, he clicked his fingers at McGee and the two of them left.
Who is after Ziva? Next chapter soon! Review!