Earth, USA, Washington
Washington D.C., tailing Hernandez
March 8th, 2195, 1;07 AM
"I knew it." Dax whispered excitedly. "I told you didn't I? Follow that scumbag and he'll lead us right to his little friend."
"Yes you did, three times already." Ziva muttered, impatience all to evident in her voice. As it was, she couldn't even cow him into submission with her driving skills as Dax was currently the one behind the wheel. He was the first one to point out that her style of using an aircar was completely unsuited to subtly follow someone, something that McGee was quick to agree to despite the fact he knew better from the times Ziva had tailed a suspect without alerting them to their presence.
"It's good that we followed him." McGee agreed and checked his omni-tool for any news of Gibbs. "But so far we haven't seen anyone blue and psychotic. If she's still on the planet, she's laying low."
"Or the boss is on her tail as we speak." Dax countered as he navigated his way through the light air traffic while keeping two car lengths between them and Hernandez. No easy feat, but this wasn't his first time tailing a suspect like this as the turian began humming a tune under his breath until he saw both McGee and Ziva giving him curious looks. "Hmm? Oh, just a little ballad I heard a while back, been stuck in my head ever since."
"What makes you think Gibbs has already found Yanis?" Ziva asked, curious as to the reason Dax was already so sure of that fact even as she agreed with him. Gibbs was good at his job, he always found a way to track down the worst of the worst.
Dax took his eye from the 'road' ahead and smirked knowingly towards the former Mossad agent that was slouched provocatively in the seat next to him. "Why Miss Dah-veed, you can give me that coy look all ya like darlin', but you and I both know Gibbs ain't the kinda man to give up once he's got a scent. I've known folk like him before, he's on her tail or I'll eat my badge."
"I suppose you have a point." Ziva conceded and nodded towards the vehicle they were following. "So why are we after him?" She had her own suspicions, but she liked to talk when there was nothing else to do with her time. It helped to reach new ideas, to look at the pieces of a mystery like this in a different light. She couldn't count the number of times they'd found a way to catch their suspects just by going over the evidence in a different fashion.
"Well, he is involved in something shady and we pretty much confirmed that his lover was murdered by that mysterious asari that took her from him, my bet is he's using his contacts to find her."
"And when he does, so do we." Ziva stated with a grim nod of her head.
"Exactly, until then we lay low. After all, we can't show them our talons just yet." Dax grinned confidently as Ziva chuckled softly in reply, both of them certain that Hernandez would lead them right to Yanis's front door before too long.
McGee for his part, once he had shaken his head at the two in the front seats, was busy doing his own legwork as he went back to scanning through what those at the office had sent regarding Yanis's financials and comms records. "Looks like Yanis called Hirsum pretty regularly about the same time Hernandez said she had likely made contact with her. Nothing too long from what I can tell, but the calls become increasingly frequent as their 'relationship' continued uninterrupted until unexpectedly, Hirsum stopped calling Yanis. It must have been about the same time she found out what she was really doing."
"It must have broken her hold over Hirsum, if only temporarily. Long enough for the salarian to leave us a trail to follow at least." Agreed a disgusted Dax as his taloned fingers curled over the 'wheel' in front of him.
"It'd certainly explain why she was able to resist the truth serum Yanis tried to use on her. Even if she managed to sleep with her one last time, Hirsum likely regained her senses afterwards and gave it all she had to deny Yanis." McGee said as he paused in his scan of Yanis's electronic history. "We got red flags here, it looks like Yanis's been trading the refugees to several well known slaver rings across the galaxy. Money, arms, ships, it looks like she has a thing for luxury items from what I can see of her extranet purchases. I have a last known address in Fairfax, VA for an assumed name."
"Who?" Asked Ziva as she turned around in her chair as far as her seatbelt harness allowed.
A few more quick taps at his omni-tool revealed the information she'd asked for as McGee said, "Samara Tel'vani."
"The Justicar?" Dax asked, the amazement in his voice clearly audible to both ACIS agents. When they gave him confused looks, he quickly explained. "She was one of Shepard's crew after the first Normandy SR-1 was blown up by Collectors shortly after the first Battle of the Citadel, when we saw our first Reaper and what it was capable of. Most of the 5th Fleet under Admiral Hackett was lost during that fight, but between them and Shepard's efforts, Sovereign was blown away before it had a chance to activate the relay hidden within the Citadel. It's rather ironic then that Yanis would choose to use a famous Justicar's name to cover her tracks, especially since most Justicars, when they aren't righting wrongs everywhere they go, hunt down Ardat-Yakshis wherever they appear. From what I heard, Samara hunted down one AY for centuries, and very nearly got her a couple times long before she joined Shepard's crew."
"Talk about determination." McGee muttered as he pulled up directions from where they were and where Yanis's home under her assumed name was located and raised an eyebrow when he had the results. "You were right, Alleron's heading to Yanis's home. He knew who it was and didn't say a word."
"Would you if that was your gal on Ducky's slab, McGee?"
"No, probably not." McGee reluctantly agreed as Ziva straightened in her seat once more. "So what's the plan?"
"Simple, we beat him there." Ziva stated as Dax peeled away from Hernandez's trail just as his car turned down another street. With a pretty good idea of where he was going, they didn't need to follow him any further.
Earth, USA, Washington
Washington D.C., Germantown DZ (Dead Zone)
March 8th, 2195, 1;11 AM
"Gettin' some serious Alien vibes from this Boss." Whispered a slightly nervous DiNozzo as he led the way forward into the darkened tunnel ahead, gun first with Adri and Gibbs following just behind him.
"The original trilogy or the crap remakes?" Tony paused and glanced at Adri as if she had grown a second head. The asari raised her eye ridges in reply before saying, "What? Elliot and I've spent more than a few evenings binge watching old movies together."
"He know you moonlight as a sexy special secret agent?" Tony had his answer when Adri remained tight lipped. "Guess it'd put a damper on any romantic retirement plans between you two, what with you havin' to kill him if he ever found out the truth about your late nights."
"No...thankfully that wouldn't be necessary in his case, but you are right, this life isn't easy." Adri softly agreed. "But I could never tell him what I do and have him see me as something else because of it."
"You won't have to worry about it if Yanis gets away." Gibbs softly whispered towards them both, the just audible note of warning silencing them both on the spot as they continued through the tunnel created by a round of molten slag traveling at near light speed. The blood trail continued, until they reached a basement that was connected to the tunnel, where they found an empty vial stamped with the Sirta Foundation's logo. "Medi-gel, she had this place prepared. Smart girl." Gibbs admitted as he tossed aside the empty vial before looking towards the nearby stairwell that led up to the rest of the house.
"Open med box over here Boss." Tony said and nodded his head towards a nearby container on a shelf, where a roll of bandages, slick with more of Yanis's blue blood, resided. "She took the time to patch herself up, she's likely not too far ahead." Glancing around the next moment, Tony noticed that Adri had slipped away while he'd been distracted. "Boss-"
Gibbs was already moving ahead, having figured out that Adri had gone ahead without them. "Damn it." He cursed low in his throat. While he agreed with the logic that they needed to stop Yanis from escaping, Adri was going to get herself killed, going off ahead like she had. Wasting no time in running up the stairs after her, Gibbs and Tony barreled through the partially open attic door. Seeing the front door was also partially open, Gibbs was the first outside just as he saw Adri being thrown across the lawn by another shockwave of dark blue energy followed by a quick barrage of haphazardly fired pistol shots. To his surprise though, she rolled to her back, raised her omni-tool covered hand, and threw something towards a vehicle that had just begun to lift off the ground.
"Tracking beacon!" Adri yelled over the roar of the engine as the car sped off into the night. Clutching at her right side, the Spectre groaned weakly as she cradled her ribs, blue blood spilling from beneath her spread fingers. "Ugh….don't say it Agent Gibbs."
"That you screwed the pooch?" Gibbs asked as Tony ran back downstairs to search for anything they could use to patch her up while he helped keep pressure on the gunshot wound.
"Grrr….I thought I said….oh nevermind." Adri grumbled through gritted teeth. "Signal...program on my omni-tool." She said as she fumbled with the controls to transfer the data to Tony and Gibbs. "Can't...let her get away." Adri's face paled to a very unhealthy shade of blue as her eyes began to flutter closed despite a valiant effort to keep from passing out.
"We won't. Tony?!" Gibbs called out as he kept pressure on the wound as best he could. He breathed only a little easier when Tony ran back out, two more vials of the precious red liquid in hand, one of which he handed over the moment he skidded to a stop just beside Gibbs and Adri. Jamming the injector into the wound, Tony held Adri down as she jolted upright from the sudden pain as the medi-gel began to seal the wound closed. Gibbs remained focused on the task of keeping the injection steady as the medi-gel like foam hardened and began to turn a slightly off color shade of Adri's flesh.
"Ow…." Adri groaned as she relaxed once the worst was over. "Ugh...I don't miss that feeling at all."
"Been thrown around before I take it." Gibbs stated now that the worst was over.
"Shot...thrown, blown up, yeah, I've had my share of close calls. Ow…." Adri groaned as she gingerly clutched at the now sealed hole in the side of her chest. "That's not gonna scar later." She muttered sarcastically as she began to stand to her feet.
"Meh, you can barely notice. You sure you should be gettin' up after that though?" Asked a concerned Tony, a question the asari chose to ignore even as she swayed drunkenly from the blood loss she'd endured from hitting the ground as hard as she had followed by a lucky shot in the same span of time. Both Gibbs and Tony were there in an instant to keep her steady, with Tony keeping a hand on her arm even when she glared at him in an effort to get him to back off. "Yeah yeah, keep lookin' all you like miss Spectre, you need to sit down."
"I can still fight." Adri protested through gritted teeth as she jerked her arm free of Tony's grasp. Turning to Gibbs, she flared menacingly with dark energy, but it was the look in her eyes that had his undivided attention. "One of those ships….Yanis's thugs left a little girl's doll behind. I can't let that go unanswered, not if there's even a slim chance we can save her before she's sold off to goddess knows who."
"And what happens when Colonel Mann asks why you ended up dead?" Gibbs asked in turn even as he sympathized with what she was saying. She was a good agent, Spectre or not, and he understood all too well how far she'd go if it meant an innocent child could go home. It was always the same story for people like them, but he couldn't help but breathe a little easier when Adri's eyes flicked to the ground between them even as she refused to move. She perked up when Gibbs patted Adri on the shoulder as he started back for their car. "You can come along, but you're staying in the car."
The real reason was that he didn't think she could walk in a straight line without falling over, but Adri took the bone for what it was worth and smiled grimly as she 'allowed' Tony to walk her back to their car. "And here I thought that extra 'B' in your name was for bastard."
"It is," Gibbs shot back with a just audible chuckle in his voice without turning to address her, "but you get used to it working with me long enough, Spectre Adri." Unlike the last time he'd said her name and rank, there was none of the earlier hostility and vaguely disguised suspicion in his voice. There was genuine appreciation for what she was trying to do, and for what kind of person she'd proven herself to be.
Earth, USA, Washington
Fairfax, Virginia: Fox Chapel Estates
March 8th, 2195, 2;01 AM
Having landed some distance away from the sprawling, recently rebuilt estate in one of Fairfax's more expensive stretches of land, Dax, Ziva, and McGee were the first to arrive. Deactivating his omni-tool, McGee jogged as quietly as he could to catch up with the turian officer and the former Mossad agent. "Gibbs just sent a message, said that he's enroute with Tony and our Spectre friend. They wounded Yanis, but she got away."
"Well then, we best not let her get away then." Dax replied with the best impression of a human grin he could manage as he and Ziva pulled their side arms, with McGee following suit as they warily approached the large, three floor country home before them, a high metallic security fence giving it a measure of privacy and an air of secrecy. Spotting a nearby camera attached to the fence's leftmost corner facing the street, currently facing away from them, Dax whistled to Ziva, who grinned knowingly when she followed his gaze to the camera. Running just beneath it before it could pan back around, Ziva pulled a knife from her belt as he and McGee ducked down behind a nearby car. Nimbly climbing up the fence, Ziva promptly cut into the device before plugging her omni-tool in. A few seconds later, and her hack program, a gift from a certain grateful quarian Admiral, went to work in shutting down the outside security feeds.
Sliding down and landing lightly on the ground a moment later, Ziva grinned a little wider as the front gate opened of its own accord. "I do believe we have a case of breaking and entering." Ziva offered, a coy, mischievous grin on her lips as she gave them an 'excuse' to search the premises. Despite the fact they had more than enough evidence on their side to warrant a search, it was more fun in its way to bend the law nearly to the breaking point.
"And bein' the good agents that we are, we'd be remiss not to look into it." Dax replied, catching onto her reasoning as he took point with Ziva just behind him, which left McGee, as usual, to bring up the rear with an exasperated sigh escaping him at the continued back and forth between Ziva and Dax. It was almost as bad as dealing with Tony and Gibbs, but as annoying as they were, he also couldn't help but feel grateful to have them on the team. Still, spotting Hernandez's car parked haphazardly behind the same car Gibbs, Tony, and Adri had likely been chasing, he nodded his head towards the two vehicles to get his friends' attention.
Putting themselves on either side of the front door after giving the vehicles a once over, Ziva was the first to spot the broken lock and someone's very big bootprint embedded against the door itself. Without a word, she gingerly pushed the door aside while Dax covered the entranceway before she slipped inside, silent as a ghost. McGee brought up the rear, his eyes automatically snapping to the stairwell that split in two different directions at the other end of the large foyer. The only movement were the curtains behind him shifting about. Despite how dangerous their adversary was, they knew splitting up was the only option if they wanted any hope of getting to Yanis and searching her house for any of the missing refugees in a timely fashion.
Hearing a scuffle above, Ziva, who'd just been about to enter what looked like a well appointed living room complete with dark blue and black leather couches and seats, started back the way she had just came before movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Beginning to turn, Ziva had only a split second to duck as a knife slashed where her head had just been. Without needing to think, her free hand lashed out, her fingers pressed firmly into the shape of a 'knife' of her own, and she jabbed her bunched up fingers into the assailant's throat before following with a spin kick to her attacker's face. Hitting the ground hard just beside the table, Ziva leveled her gun on the woman sprawled out before her.
"Y-Yanis….I can't fail her!" Taken aback by the frantic look in her eyes, Ziva was glad McGee and Dax came running since she was not about to let her guard down around the woman at her feet.
Kicking her knife away, Ziva planted a foot on the half naked woman in front of her. The little 'love bites' and scratches across the dark brown haired woman, who couldn't have been older than twenty tops, spoke of just what she was being kept in the house for. "She's out of her mind."
"Yanis's been at her, and from what Athame's said, this'll be the norm for anyone else in this place." Dax replied as he produced a pair of omni-cuffs before he and McGee rolled her over before efficiently binding her hands behind her back. "Not her fault though, but we need to keep moving."
"Intruders! Mistress will have your hides!" It was Dax's turn to yelp, a surprisingly unmanly sound escaping his mandibles, when he was tackled to the dirt by an equally crazed young man that, like the woman already bound on the ground, couldn't have been much older than twenty-two or so. Not that the turian was in a position to notice as he and McGee tried to restrain this latest 'plaything' among Yanis's twisted harem.
It took some doing between the three of them, made harder as the woman kicked out frantically against Ziva and McGee as she tried to help her friends to restrain the young man between them, but they got him under control in due course. "How many more...are there?" McGee wheezed as he and Dax flopped tiredly against the couch.
"Don't know….but yeesh! Spirits, this is nuts. Seen a lot of strange shit in my time, but this takes the cake." Dax groaned as he pressed a hand against his bleeding nose, having taken a hit to the face from the back of the man's head when he'd unexpectedly jerked backwards during the scuffle.
Leaving them to get their breath back, Ziva pushed ahead but not before switching the ammo block for the rubber, non lethal variant instead of the standard issue tungsten block. If there were anymore of Yanis's prisoners turned brainwashed minions running around, she didn't want to simply kill them if she could avoid it as she entered a long hallway, with a number of spare bedrooms, bathrooms, closets, and a sitting room that at first glance, didn't appear to be more than that. That was until she spotted a glass container with a number of blue and yellow pills contained within. A quick scan of the contents with her omni-tool revealed what was inside. "Hallex. Illegal substance in most civilized systems." While compared to human trafficking, possession of a controlled substance was a relatively minor offense, but Ziva still added it to the list of reasons to remove Yanis the moment the opportunity presented itself.
Spotting a quickly approaching shadow, Ziva waited for the unknown assailant to pass before immediately stepping out and putting a rubber round into the person's back. They fell with a cry and a curse as they hit the ground a couple feet away. Putting a second into their right leg, Ziva none too gently bent down to slap a pair of cuffs on the man. "Got a third!" Ziva called to Dax and McGee as she rolled him over onto his back. The frantic look in his eyes matched the other two they'd already subdued. He was also just as young if not younger than them as well, which meant that Yanis liked her 'partners' young, likely because it made them easier to control.
Kicking away the weapon he'd dropped, Ziva stood and started down the hall just as Dax rounded the corner to secure this latest adversary with the rest while McGee watched his back. Stalking silently forward as best she could, Ziva stopped at the end of the hall after glancing into the various rooms, seeing more of the hedonist that Yanis apparently was, and heard a light scuffle of feet just ahead. Peering around the corner, she saw Hernandez ducking into a room just out of her line of sight. Ziva slipped around the corner in silent but focused pursuit. Looking to the other side of the room though, Ziva saw a vehicle landing just behind the estate. She knew they were running out of time if that was enemy reinforcements, so putting on a burst of speed, she followed after Hernandez with the full intent of stopping him before he got himself killed.
Seeing another flight of stairs, these much smaller than the grand foyer's, Ziva looked up as she saw movement above. With no sight of the former Alliance officer, she had to assume it was Hernandez that had already raced upstairs to kill Yanis for what she'd done to Hirsum. Looking at the wall just in front of her, Ziva's eyes darted to a mirror bolted to the wall about the same time she saw someone approaching from behind. Whirling on the spot, her gun snapped upward, but before she could pull the trigger, she found herself frozen on the spot.
While it wasn't Yanis, the same 'love struck' look on the asari's face did little to settle Ziva's nerves as she stepped into the light of the dimly lit stairwell. The swirling dark energy that kept her from moving practically enveloped the scantily clad 'woman' in front of her, an elegantly curved blade in her off hand. "The goddess Yanis shall accept my sacrifice, and give her love to me in return." Raising the knife above her head, Ziva could only move her eyes to follow its progress as the asari prepared to drive it into her chest.
Jerking as several rounds slammed into her chest and side, the asari did a sickening parody of a dance as large holes, oozing bluish purple blood, appeared in her flesh before she collapsed to the ground in a boneless heap. About the same time, Ziva was released from the Stasis field, but she didn't give it much thought as she turned to see McGee and Dax running down the hall. "Ziva, you okay?" McGee asked, his concern written all over his face as he came to a stop just in front of her followed shortly by Dax.
"Y-yes, I will be at least." Ziva replied, a little shaken but far more grateful for their timely arrival. "I owe you two." She admitted, but both men were quick to wave her off.
"Bah, no worries Ziva. We get this bitch, I'll call it even." He declared, but she wasn't fooled by his cavalier attitude as she saw what was behind his feigned cheer. It'd been a very close call and they knew it.
Still, she let it go but not before conveying her thanks for their quick arrival with a look before she continued forward. Despite her earlier hesitation to keep casualties to a minimum, Ziva didn't feel particularly bad about switching her ammo block back to the standard tungsten that would not fail to kill anyone on the receiving end. Darting up the stairs, Ziva kept her gun trained ahead of her while Dax and McGee covered her and the top of the stairs respectively as they warily moved forward.
The earlier clattering they'd heard returned, with the sound of someone angrily slamming open a door. Catching sight of Hernandez's shaved head, Ziva was the first to level her gun in his direction. "Hernandez! Weapon on the ground, now." The pistol in his right hand jerked as he slowly turned, his surprise giving way to angry resignation.
"You're going to let that bitch get away!" Hernandez roared, but he wasn't so blind to his rage that he couldn't see the deadly gleam on Ziva's face as she was soon joined by Dax and McGee in short order.
Movement behind the large, ex marine caught Dax's attention a moment too late as a hand burst forth from Hernandez's chest about the same time a menacingly dark aura of dark energy appeared around them both. With a surprised, gurgling gasp, Hernandez could only look down at the blood soaked hand sticking out of his chest before it was retracted and he was allowed to fall to his face in front of them with Yanis giving them all a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. "What? It's not like he didn't have it coming." She grinned wickedly as she summoned a barrier around herself all while she walked backwards about the same time all three agents unloaded their 'clips' into her. The bullets harmlessly bounced off her biotic shield though, waves of energy rippling outward with every impact. "Really? You deactivate my security, break into my house, and tear through my little harem and that's all you have?"
The silky, sultry laugh that escaped her was absolutely chilling as she casually looked to her blood covered hand before making a face as she continued to walk. When Dax stepped forward, putting his gun away as he did, they saw that he too had begun to glow with a similar light as the asari as he balled his talon hands into tight fists. "Alright, ya made your point Yanis. Brute force just won't cut it." Snapping his right hand up in a flash, he released a swirling mass of blue energy that exploded outward into a sucking vortex that had Yanis stumbling back in surprise before she reached out her hands to either side of the hallway, her barrier falling at the same time. Literally glowing with rage, Yanis shot forward, flinging herself at the approaching Dax, who was ready for her as he casually grabbed her by the throat and her leading arm before tossing her towards the stairwell. She hit the railing in a heap but was up in a flash just as two more of her minions ran up the stairs to assist her.
Ziva and McGee didn't need to be told to keep the area clear for Dax to handle Yanis as they shot down towards the pair of brainwashed individuals. Catching his next biotic assault in one hand, Yanis threw it back towards the center of Dax's chest, but he casually batted it aside before grabbing the Ardat-Yakshi by the throat. Despite Athame's warnings not to engage her up close, Dax was proving the much more capable combatant as he slammed a biotically assisted punch into the woman's stomach, powering through her failing defenses and driving all of the air from her lungs in the same instant. Dropping her to the ground, he kicked her across the face for good measure, knocking her out cold. "Doesn't mean I don't enjoy it though." Dax admitted as he dusted his hands off before turning to Ziva and McGee. "Still good?"
Having dispatched their own adversaries by that point, Ziva took one look at the downed Yanis and smirked approvingly. "I see why you were the unit leader to your Cabal group, Dax. Not bad."
"Heh, thanks." Pulling out a pair of biotic dampening cuffs for this particular threat, Dax slapped them onto Yanis's wrists before punching her one last time in the face for good measure. Looking towards Hernandez, Dax's smirk faded away in an instant, and he made his way to the man. Gently turning him over, Dax grimaced at the grisly sight of the man before looking down and away from his shocked expression. "Coward or not, the man tried to do what was right in his own way. I can't fault him that. Spirits...it was so much easier to hate him." Dax muttered as he reached up and pulled Hernandez's eyelids closed as gently as he could. "Might have disgraced the uniform, but you deserved better than this. You and Hirsum both."
"That they did." Looking up towards the soft reply, McGee immediately perked up a little when he saw Tony, Gibbs, and the cloth covered face of their Spectre friend coming down the other end of the hallway. Gibbs sighed at seeing Hernandez hadn't made it before nodding his head towards Yanis. "So what happens with her?" He asked Adri, to which she answered by simply looking away. "Not here."
"A quick death is more than she deserves anyway." Adri muttered angrily, but she made no move to execute the asari sprawled out between them. Instead she raised her left hand and Lifted the woman off the ground before turning on her heel, Yanis's unconscious body trailing a foot off the floor.
"Tony, McGee, go with her. Ziva-" Gibbs never got to finished as the team split up to go about their expected tasks.
Earth, USA, Washington
Washington D.C., ACIS
March 8th, 2195, 9;07 AM
Abby was all smiles as she and Athame walked into the ACIS bullpen that morning, the perpetually happy goth all but bouncing on the balls of her black leather boots. "Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs!" She cried excitedly as the older man jerked upright in his chair, having fallen asleep at his desk the moment he and the rest of the team had walked in.
Rubbing his eyes, Gibbs groaned and shook his head before giving Abby an expectant look. "Someone better have coffee." Athame's contrite look as she handed over a fresh cup of his preferred brew didn't go unnoticed by the marine as he glared over the rim of the synthetic plastic cup. "And we're still going to have that talk." Taking a sip from the cup, Gibbs nodded his approval before he amended his earlier statement. "But you did good when it mattered, Athame. So what do you two have?"
"I've been wonderin' that myself." Dax yawned and stretched his arms over his head before he began to rummage around in his desk. With a cry of delight, he pulled out a candy bar before unrolling the wrapper. When Tony started giving the tasty looking treat more than a passing interest, Dax just grinned and kicked his feet up onto the desk's surface, glowing a dark blue to deter any funny ideas. "I wouldn't recommend it DiNozzo, we ain't genetically compatible, so unless ya'll like having your stomach pumped, I'd keep your mitts off my snacks."
"Ah...good to know." When Abby and Athame glared at the two of them, Tony and Dax muttered apologies for interrupting whatever it was they'd brought up from the lab. "Please continue ladies." Tony invited with a bow and a gesture of his hand.
Abby leaned forward menacingly for a moment before straightening just as quickly. Tapping at the omni-tool on her arm, the central monitor flared to life, revealing a picture of the dog tags that had been pulled from Hirsum's fingers. "They belonged to Hernandez as he said, I was able to pull the ID information shortly after you guys left, but we also found a hidden partition inside, containing Yanis's 'client' list. Between the two of us, we were able to electronically follow the refugees to their final destinations. Director Shepard's since passed the information onward to the various agencies, with the full intent of having them rescued the first chance we get."
"It must have been what Hirsum got her hands on." Ziva noted as she too rubbed the sleep from her eyes before taking a sip from the cold water bottle Athame had set in front of her shortly after leaving Gibbs his coffee. With a nod of thanks, she took a sip before setting it aside. "If that's the case, then it certainly explains what must have started her breaking free of Yanis's control, but not how she maintained her autonomy."
"That's actually easy to explain." All eyes turned to Ducky as he joined the group. With a nod, Abby pulled up another image, this one some kind of metallic implant with a built in reservoir of some kind built into one side. "I found this in the remains of Hirsum's gray matter you were kind enough to have brought back home. From what we can speculate, Hamu and I believe Hirsum was able to build herself a kind of neurochemical blocker to counteract Yanis's ability to 'sway' her to her way of thinking. With as much damage to the back of her skull that was present however, we'd have never found the surgical scar that was likely there. If Yanis discovered the scarring, it would explain why she killed Hirsum as violently as she did once she had fed her addiction first."
"Yeesh. Where do you think she got the head plant done?" Tony asked, to which Abby grinned knowingly.
"What I want to know is where the AGeS van wound up." Ziva mused before Athame perked up this time. "At the bottom of a river?"
"Close. Abandoned in a warehouse owned by AGeS under Hernandez's name. He was likely panicking and trying to get Hirsum to a hospital despite no doubt realizing it was too late for such things, but when the door opened unexpectedly, he kept going." Athame explained before a palpable air of melancholy filled the room. Dax himself looked the most uncomfortable with the reminder they'd failed to save him even if she hadn't meant anything by it. Walking over to his desk, the asari waited until he had glanced up at her before reaching out to put a hand on a shoulder while she made a short series of gestures with her free hand, the glow of her omni-tool the only indicator she wasn't just making idle movements. What she said next, only Dax understood since she had deactivated her universal translator. Smiling appreciatively at whatever she'd said, Dax returned the gesture with similarly alien words to her, before they both turned on their UIs once more.
Walking away despite a number of curious looks following her, Athame gave the turian one last look over her shoulder before she ducked into the elevator, with an equally curious Abby hot on her heels. "Huh…." Ducky murmured before they turned their attention to Dax, who had since set aside his candy bar. "Dare I say that exchange seemed rather...intimate. Care to share with the rest of us?"
"Sorry doc, some things are best left to the imagination." Replied a quietly smug if grateful Dax as he finished the rest of his snack before casually tossing the wrapper into the wastebasket by Tony's desk across the bullpen. "Don't say I didn't give ya nothin' DiNozzo." Tony made a face in retort but otherwise remained quiet. Ducky chuckled and left a moment later with a mirthful shake of his head.
Smirking to himself as well despite everything that had occurred, Gibbs glanced towards the clock before going back to his paperwork. "Soon as paperwork's done, go home. You've all done good." Jerking upright in their respective seats, Gibbs glanced up as he saw the pleasantly surprised glances from them all. "Go home. Get some sleep, I plan to."
"W-well thanks boss." McGee offered hesitantly once he'd been able to get past his initial surprise. "But I think we're f-" A wadded spitball from Tony silenced him on the spot. "Really Tony?" He grumbled with an audible roll of his eyes.
"Yes, really, Elf Lord. Don't look a gift Gibbs in the mouth." Tony retorted before shooting their boss a grateful, encompassing grin from his desk before he returned to finishing up his own paperwork regarding most of what had occurred between them and Yanis's 'minions'. The only part they all left out was Adri's true identity, but as if summoned by his thoughts, they turned and saw Elliot running up to the woman in question the moment she stepped out of Shepard's office. Seeing them embrace, Tony's grin faded to a much more wistful, sad frown.
"Thinking about her?" Ziva asked quietly, gently, knowing full well it was still a very sore subject for the man.
"Y...yeah." Tony admitted since it was pointless to deny it. "Doesn't matter if it was part of the job…."
"You didn't go into that undercover assignment looking to hurt anyone, that's the difference." Ziva countered, but while Tony appreciated the effort, he couldn't shake the guilt that lingered in his chest.
"Yeah….tell that to Jeanne and her dead arms dealing father." Muttered a suddenly very tired Tony as he got up from his desk, coat in hand and slung it over his shoulder before he started for the elevator.
Dax sighed, deactivated his terminal, and pushed his chair in before running after Tony before he could disappear into the elevator. "Come on DiNozzo, let's get a couple of beers 'fore we head back." Despite his morose mood, Tony managed a smile for the turian as the elevator doors shut in front of them.
Following their example, Ziva stood, gathered her things, and started past Gibbs desk, but not without saying a 'good day' to the man. Gibbs looked up and nodded his head in response, no words needing to be said between them more than that. Satisfied, Ziva left just as Adri broke away from Elliot before making her way to Gibbs' desk. "Agent Gibbs….thanks for helping with that...problem."
Gibbs nodded his head even if her attempt at subtlety was rather lacking in this instance. "For a singer, you're better than most of your type, Adri." He replied, to which Adri smiled appreciatively for his discretion but also his kindness before he nodded towards Elliot. "Will you tell him the truth?"
"He already knows." Gibbs cocked an eyebrow up at that, but Adri's sheepish chuckle told him what she soon confirmed. "He figured it out a lot sooner than I had given him credit for."
"It helps that our 'tour route' was a little too coincidental." Eliot remarked as he approached and wrapped his arms around Adri's midriff from behind, careful not to touch where she'd been shot several hours ago. "I might not be an….investigative agent, but my grandmother's perceptive nature still passed on to me it seems. Besides, no offense honey, but you need some more practice at slipping away 'on business'." He chuckled even when Adri playfully slammed an elbow into his side as best she could. Stepping around and letting her go in the same movement, he held out a hand to Gibbs in the next moment, which Gibbs accepted without needing to think about it. "And thanks for keeping an eye on my girl Agent Gibbs."
"She's a good singer." He replied simply as he pumped Elliot's hand firmly before letting him go. "You're lucky to have her, Colonel Mann."
"That she is, and yes I am." Elliot replied before he shrugged, as if he'd come to a decision of some kind, and before Adri could begin to guess what he was up to, he pulled out a little black box. With a gasp as her hands flew up to her mouth, Elliot smiled widely as he casually flipped the lid open before carefully pulling the ring out from its velvet bed. "So….that a yes darling?"
Gibbs chuckled warmly as Adri accepted the offered ring, her hand trembling as Elliot slipped it onto her ring finger. "Is that a trick question you big, loveable dork?" She gushed, her eyes damp with tears as she cupped the young man's face between her hands before her lips found a new home against his. Chuckling with every step, Gibbs walked away to give them some space.
Earth, USA, Washington
Washington D.C., Ziva's apartment
March 8th, 2195, 1;07 PM
Having fallen asleep on her couch after their long night, Ziva woke with a start when she heard her front bell ring. Checking the outside security camera on her omni-tool, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when she saw a familiar, aquamarine skinned asari outside, an all too familiar sultry grin on her face. Despite having dealt with such a twisted, monstrous asari not so long ago, seeing Shi'shaa's face was strangely a relief to the former Mossad agent as she quickly straightened herself out as best she could. Raking a hand through her hair before tying it off in a loose bun, Ziva smoothed out the ruffles to her night gown, picked up her fallen book she'd been reading, and spoke into her omni-tool as she made for the door. "I'm coming. Sorry, it's been a long night."
"Don't worry about it Ziva. I just thought I'd stop by, but I can come back-"
"N-no, that won't be necessary." Ziva replied hurriedly, momentarily surprising herself with the urgency in her voice before she shook her head. Rationalizing it away as just a side effect of coming so close to being killed, again, Ziva passed her hand over the door with a smile as Shi'shaa stepped inside. "I'm...actually glad you found me, but how did you?" Ziva asked, not so exhausted her long time ingrained paranoia didn't decide to flare up on her.
Shi'shaa smirked but nodded, as if having expected the question. "Well, after our run in at AGeS, I thought I'd try my luck before I went off world in a few days. 'Sides...you're not the only one that wanted some company, not after hearing Mr. Alleron had been murdered." Ziva looked away at that even as she gestured towards the simple leather couch in her comfortable living room. "You don't seem surprised." The asari stated rather than asked as her eyes gently scanned the woman's face as she sat down.
"No...I'm not. Another asari killed him right in front of us...in front of me." Ziva sighed tiredly and ran a hand across the side of her head before leaning back. "To make it worse, she completley shrugged off everything myself and another agent could throw at her. I've gone up against strong opponents before, but I've never-"
Ziva's words died in her throat when she felt Shi'shaa's hand slowly run across her wrist, her fingertips a gentle caress across the back of her hand. "You've never been that powerless before." She finished for her before she looked away this time. "I….understand what that's like." Turning her right hand over, Shi'shaa couldn't meet Ziva's gaze when she laid eyes on the series of numbers and an immediately familiar symbol on the underside of her arm.
"Cerberus. You were a prisoner?" She knew she had it wrong when Shi'shaa didn't move so much as a muscle. "An experiment?"
"I'd have preferred the former….at least then I could have pretended I was a person to them." The lingering resentment and years old pain was quite audible in the woman's trembling, whisper soft response.
"What were they after?" While she didn't expect an answer, Ziva still felt compelled to ask as she made it a point to trace her fingertips over the serial number forever etched into the alien's flesh, making it clear she wasn't afraid of what it meant or what it likely meant to Shi'shaa.
"Funnily enough they weren't interested in sharing with their 'property,' no matter how many times I asked." Shi'shaa replied before she slowly looked up, amazement evident on her face as she trembled under Ziva's soft touch. A smile slowly returned to her lips even as old memories swirled behind the woman's dark brown eyes. "I heard enough to get an idea though. They wanted stronger biotics in their minions, and they were hoping something in our DNA could help them achieve it. Since this was during the war, no one noticed a few missing asaris out of the billions of people that were dying across the galaxy every day until it was over. I don't know if they ever found what they were after before Shepard and her team shut them down, I just know I escaped their little freak show before they could cut me open and stuff goddess knows what into me."
"It would seem we're both haunted by the past." Ziva replied as gently as she could, memories of Ari's death by her hand, of losing her sister Tali, and more besides began to make their rounds behind her own brown eyes. "I cannot speak to being captured, but….I've endured my own trials that have shaken me to my core."
"I'd...like to hear them sometime." Shi'shaa offered hopefully, to which Ziva smiled and nodded her head.
"As long as you do the same, Shi'shaa." Who moved forward first, Ziva could never remember later, only that despite having only just met not so long ago, it felt completely natural to embrace the asari as she did the same.
Ziva never saw the predatory gleam in Shi'shaa's eyes as her head rested against the woman's shoulder…..
End Notes: Vergil1989: Ruh roh Raggy, it looks like Ziva might be in trouble. Hehe, I'm such an evil person. Don't worry though, whatever she's up to, it won't happen right away, but feel free to speculate as time wears on. And no, Shi'shaa's not an Ardat-Yakshi, I promise. Forgetting the fact they're incredibly rare, even the non lethal variant needs much more time to have any lasting effect on their partners. That doesn't mean there isn't something else at work here though. 'Evil laughter ensues' 'Ahem.' I do want to apologize for the long ass delay though. Between having an immense amount of difficulty in finishing this one and a bunch of RL stuff coming up, it absolutely killed my inspiration for this story for some reason although I didn't seem to have any trouble with Nomad-117's Semper Ad Meliora, a Persona 5/Mass Effect crossover although it'd be safer to say it's most of the Persona series crossed with ME, with a focus on P5 since the main group are the Phantom Thieves. Anyway, again I apologize for not getting to this sooner everyone but I HOPE this was worth it. See ya for now!
Sandblasted will hopefully be coming out a lot sooner with everyone's favorite biotic goddess making her first appearance as the team investigates Grissom Academy. Look forward to the shenanigans between Gibbs and an understandably paranoid former hardass criminal trying to keep her students safe the only way she knows how. Lol anyway, see ya!
