Please forgive me for taking so long to post this chapter. I had to move back down to the dorm, so I just now found the time to breath.
THanks for the reviews, and for reading this story, and for being patient with me!
"Care to fill me in?" Gibbs asked, startling Ziva who opened her eyes to look at him.
"I do not know what you mean," Ziva replied not looking into Gibb's eyes
"Ziva, Vance already has enough material to send you back to Israel and Tony to Antarctica. Don't give him more," Gibbs told the Israeli.
"I have a meeting with the Deputy Director of Mossad in less than thirty minutes," Ziva explained. "I do not believe they have been telling us everything about Jeremy." Gibbs stared at Ziva and she knew he wanted her to explain further. "When I confronted Michael Bashan about Namir Eschel two years ago, he informed me that my father had ordered me followed. I never told Jeremy about Lamar's Coffeehouse. He had to of had me followed, too," she explained.
"Or the Mossad agents following you was rogue," Gibbs added.
"Either way, my father should have realized what was going on," Ziva stormed. "Did Abby find anything on the newspaper or tape recorder we found?" she asked.
"Newspaper's from Berlin. Dated May of last year," Gibbs explained. "Nothing in it connects to anything in the D.C. area."
MTAC
Ziva stood in front of the large screen in MTAC, vaguely aware of Gibbs and Director Vance standing just a few feet behind her. Her mental clock ticked off the seconds as she waited for the tech to signal.
When the man sitting at the computer finally announced an incoming feed from Tel Aviv, Ziva mentally prepared herself for facing her father. When the screen flickered to show her father's face staring at her, she said, "Shalom, Father."
"Shalom, my daughter," Eli David replied. "It is nice to see you again."
Ziva chose to ignore the pleasantries her father said, saying, "I need the intel you gathered two years ago when you ordered me followed. We believe Vladimir Radu Banica-Holdset had his own operation watching at the same time."
"If that was true, I would have been told at the time," Eli David stated as he walked off screen towards the filing cabinets in the corner of the room.
"Perhaps one of your agents was rogue," Gibbs spoke up from behind Ziva.
"Highly unlikely," David answered. "I assigned two of my most trusted men," he explained, searching through the middle drawer. Pulling out a folder, he opened it as he walked back into the screen.
"Which men?" Ziva asked. She knew most of the men her father allowed in the small circle of trusted agents.
The three standing in MTAC watched the Deputy Director's facial expression change, and knew immediately something was wrong. "One of the agents assigned to watch you was the man I assigned to infiltrate Banica's team," he told the three.
"He much have used the information on Officer David to get close to Banica," Vance said. "Is there any way to contact the man?" he asked.
"Eli shook his head solemnly, "We lost contact with him in Russia the beginning of last year. He was found murdered in Berlin last May."
"Gibbs and Ziva perked up at that. It was the same time as the newspaper Ziva and McGee found at the Coffeehouse.
"He knew something he shouldn't have," Gibbs said. "We have reason to believe Holdset is planning an attack on American soil, but don't know where. Do you have any intel that could help us?" he asked.
"Officer Shahein mentioned rumblings going around inside Banica's team about something big in the works," David explained. "He died before he could tell us anymore. He also mentioned Banica seemed preoccupied with an Anthony DiNardo's relationship with Ziva. According to Shahein, Banica showed more interest in learning about them then he did with the running of the team."
"Thank you, Director David," Vance said, stepping up to beside Ziva.
"When you find this man, Special Agent Gibbs, my only regret will be that I could not get to him sooner," Eli David said to the silver-haired Marine standing to Ziva's left, before closing the feed and leaving the three standing there looking at a blue screen.
Vance turned to Gibbs and Ziva and asked, "What do you two know that I don't?"
Gibbs glared at Vance quietly, trying to keep from saying what he really wanted to say. "You know all that we know at this time, Director," Gibbs said, adding an emphasis on the last word.
"Keep me in the loop, Gibbs," Vance said, before leaving MTAC.
Abby's Lab
Ziva followed Gibbs out of the elevator and into Abby's lab. "Abby what day was the newspaper dated?" Gibbs asked, handing the girl a fresh Caf-Pow.
Abby took the drink with a smile and turned back to the computer. "It was dated May 19, 2008. I looked all over this thing, Gibbs. There's no forensic evidence. No fingerprints, no hair, no traces of anything."
"Was there an article about a murder investigation?" Gibbs asked, staring over the goth's shoulders.
Abby shot Gibbs a questioning look, before turning back to her computer, typing for a bit. "There was a small article, only a couple paragraphs, on the very last page that mentioned a group of nuns finding the body of a Middle Eastern man the night before. The coroner estimated his time of death to be two days before that," she explained.
"Any suspects?" Ziva asked, scanning the German print herself. "Wait," she exclaimed just as Abby was about to answer her previous question. "Zoom out some, Abby," Ziva said, signaling at the screen.
When Abby zoomed the view out to the full page, Gibbs saw what Ziva had noticed. "Dammit," Gibbs exclaimed, storming out of the room with Ziva on his heels, just as pissed. As they reached the door, Gibbs almost ran over McGee who scrambled out of the way just in time. Looking at Abby for answers, McGee followed her finger to the screen where McGee recognized the smirk of a smile staring back at him. "McGee, come on," the two heard Gibbs bark from the elevator and the probie took off.
In Gibb's Car
"Jeremy Holdset has been using the name Adam Bierwith since 2001 when the real Adam Beirwith died of natural causes," Abby explained to the three as Gibbs roared down the highway, weaving in and out of traffic. "He is working with the laboratory next door to Bethesda. Gibbs, they are testing a new, modified version of the same BZ gas Sharif tried to use," she exclaimed into the speaker phone.
"He's been stalling us all along," Gibbs hissed, banging the steering wheel.
"Director Vance notified the security at the lab. According to their records, Holdset is still inside the building," McGee explained as Gibbs jerked the car into the parking lot, the car tires screeching.
As soon as the three agents got out of the car, Gibbs began barking orders, "Ziva, I want you to take two men and go to the hospital. My gut tells me that the bastard still knows Tony's alive. McGee, you're with me." Ziva began to protest Gibbs' orders, but he stopped her, "I know you can hold your own, that's why I need you over there." Still not happy with that, Ziva set off towards the hospital grumbling under her breath. When Ziva walked into Tony's room, she stopped short when she found the bed empty. Looking around, Ziva could not find Tony anywhere.
"Where is the patient that is supposed to be in this room?" Ziva asked the nurse at the desk just outside the door.
"The doctor came in and said he needed to run some more tests," the nurse explained.
"What kind of tests did Dr. Andrews say needed to be done?" Ziva asked, trying to keep her calm.
The nurse looked up at the Israeli and shook her head, "It wasn't Dr. Andrews."
"Who was it then?" Ziva asked.
"He didn't say, and I didn't ask. I assumed it was one of the new surgeons they hired two months ago," the nurse said, sinking into her chair squirming under the death glare Ziva was giving the nurse.
"If anything happens to him, I will personally make sure you are lying in one of those rooms," Ziva warned as she turned away from the desk and faced the two men. "Spread out, see if you can find Tony or Holdset," she ordered. "Gibbs, Tony is gone," she said into the mic of radio.
"We're on our way," Gibbs replied, setting off out of the empty lab room assigned to Holdset, leaving a group of agents there to secure it.
Gibbs and Ziva were searching for any clues in Tony's room when Dr. Andrews walked in.
"They just told me what happened," Dr. Andrews told her. "Tony is not stable enough for this. If we don't find him soon, it could be critical," he warned.
"When was the last time you checked on him?" Gibbs asked.
"I made my rounds about two hours ago," Dr. Andrews explained. "I was coming back to check on him after lunch," he explained as McGee hurried into the room.
"Boss, I got something," he said.
There is only a couple more chapters left in this story. I promise that I will get this story finished before the end of August!!!!!!!!!!
