You know the drill by now. I don't own them. I really wish I did because then I'd make sure that Gibbs finally gave Tony some respect and the Team would actually act like a team again. I should be working on the project for my final exam, but since I've been feeling bad today, you get another chapter… Enjoy!
Getting Ahead
With lies you may get ahead in the world - but you can never go back. -- Russian proverb
Tony didn't think about the ramifications of his actions when he saw her standing there. He simply ran forward and grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the fallen man. "What the fuck are you doing here?!" He was furious, and in his anger, he gripped her arm tightly, his fingers digging painfully into her arm.
She didn't struggle, just looked at him and hissed, "Not here…If you want to rage at me we need to go somewhere private. Let's find a hotel."
He pulled her through the streets and into the lobby of a dingy hotel. He quickly registered under an alias and threw some cash at the clerk. A few minutes later he pushed her inside the room and slammed the door behind them.
"Now, tell me exactly what the fuck is going on here. I don't want any more of your bullshit lies…Tell. Me. The. Truth."
"Exactly what truth do you want to hear? Do you want to hear that I'm doing my job, or that I had to lie to you to do it?"
"Eve, don't play games with me. Did you shoot Carlos Ayella?"
"Yes. I was ordered to kill him and all of Davis' other associates."
Tony closed his eyes, pain evident in his voice when he asked, "Why?"
"Does it matter?" She ran her hands through her hair and watched him carefully.
He snapped his gaze over to the bed and crossed the room in two strides and sat on the bed next to her. "Yes it matters." He took her face in his hands and looked directly into her eyes. "Why are you doing this?"
"Tony, I love you…that aside, I can't tell you what I'm doing. It's a classified op; the only people who know are the ones involved. Don't you think I'd tell you if I could?"
He saw the determination in her eyes and shook his head. "I can't believe you lied to me."
Eve stood abruptly and stalked across the room. Finally she turned and exclaimed, "Jesus fucking Christ I can't believe you! Don't do this. You knew what I was…what I did…I've always been honest about that. I didn't tell you because I couldn't. I love you and I will do whatever I have to do to make sure you're protected."
"I don't need protection."
"Do you have any idea what's going to happen if they find out we've spoken? At the very least I'm dead, but most likely we're both dead in a shallow grave somewhere." She began to pace the room, mumbling to herself. Her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and stared hard at Tony. "Keep your mouth shut." She answered quickly, "Dupree."
"Where are you?"
"Hiding until the heat is off. It's done. I'll be back soon."
"Were you seen?"
"No, of course not; I'm clear. Call in the report; I'll see you as soon as I think it's safe."
"Fine. See you soon."
She hung up the phone and looked at him again. "See what I…Tony…please…walk away from this and go back to your assignment."
He stood and walked over to the lone window and stared out into the courtyard below. After what seemed like an eternity he turned back around and swallowed before he finally said, "Come here." She didn't move, so he held out his arms to her. "Evie, come here."
She slowly crossed the room and stood as close to him as she could without touching him. She raised her eyes to him and whispered, "What…"
Slowly he finally folded her into his arms and rested his cheek on her head. "I love you…I hate it that you lied to me, but I understand why. Can you at least tell me what the endgame is here?"
"I shouldn't, but I will. Davis is the endgame. The company wants him neutralized, and once he's given up all of his contacts I get to retire him."
Tony digested that bit of information until his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. "DiNozzo."
"Where the hell did you disappear to?"
"Sorry Boss…I…was trailing someone who looked a bit suspicious. I lost him in the crowd. I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Damn it DiNozzo! You know better than to go off on your own like that. Now I want you to get your ass back here and get ready; we're traveling back to the States tomorrow. Our next naval officer is on leave, and is in New York."
"Gotcha. I'll be back soon." Tony snapped his phone closed and sighed. "Gibbs."
She sighed heavily and said, "I gathered. I've got to get back before Kort gets suspicious."
Tony felt a twinge of jealousy; he really hated Kort with a passion. "You're here with Kort! I can't believe that!"
"Trust me; I didn't have a choice in the matter. Please promise me you'll be careful. Don't stay too close to Davis. I'm not the only one after him, and I don't want you in the crossfire when his enemies finally decide to show themselves."
"I've got Gibbs watching my six; I'll be fine. You be careful; you've got Kort which really means you're on your own. Gibbs said we're heading back to New York."
"Well, I guess that means that I am too." She hugged him fiercely. "I love you."
He kissed her quickly and smirked when he said, "I know you do. Now get out of here."
She rolled her eyes at his dig and said, "I'll be in touch…now that you know…there's no reason not to." She slipped from the room.
Tony waited a few minutes and followed, heading back to his own hotel and Gibbs.
Gibbs stared at his phone after he and DiNozzo disconnected their call. There was something wrong with Tony. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he'd seemed a bit hinky on the phone. Gibbs took a drink of the strong coffee sitting on the table before him and went over the facts again, two contacts and two successful hits. Someone wanted Davis' contacts gone, and Gibbs could guess, without too much effort, who that someone was. The Agency definitely had their own game plan that didn't include helping NCIS or the FBI with their problems. He and DiNozzo were going to have to have a long talk when he got back. Tony was too close to the CIA for his comfort, and he really wanted to know exactly where and with whom his second had been.
Tony's arrival to their double room was heralded only by the opening of the door and his almost silent entrance. He sat across from Gibbs at the small table and said nothing for a few minutes.
"Sorry I disappeared on you like that."
"Don't apologize…"
"It's a sign of weakness; I know that Boss. Still, I should know better."
Gibbs leaned over and gave Tony a light head slap. "You're damn right you should know better. Now, are you going to tell me what happened…the truth this time and not that crap you were spewing on the phone?"
"Ah…I told you…"
"You were trailing a suspect. Bullshit! Truth…NOW!"
Tony finally said, "Nothing to tell, Boss." He grabbed a pad and scribbled, we can't talk here. could be overheard.
Gibbs nodded in understanding and said loudly, "Come on, DiNozzo…I'll buy you a coffee."
The two men quickly left the small room and headed down the narrow street towards a café, once they were seated in a corner and served Gibbs leaned forward and said, "Now just what the hell is going on?"
Tony quickly looked around to make sure they weren't being observed before he quickly whispered, "I know who hit Ayella and Moore."
"Well are you going to tell me or are you going to make me guess?"
"Boss…I can't tell you. Can't you just trust me?"
Gibbs took a deep breath and hissed it out between clinched teeth. "Tony…"
"I know…it's hard to take that on faith. I will tell you this; it's a black op and top secret."
"Oh Christ!" Gibbs felt the acid pour into his stomach and start to burn a hole through its lining. "It's Eve isn't it?"
Tony said nothing, just stared at Gibbs then lowered his eyes.
Gibbs took that as a very definitive yes and all he could say was, "Shit!"
Trent was sitting in the hotel room waiting patiently when Eve finally opened the door and entered. "It took you long enough to get here. Where've you been?"
She turned emerald green eyes full of fire towards him and snapped, "I was waiting until the coast was clear. I have absolutely no desire to spend any time in a Moroccan jail. Why, did you miss me?"
He let that comment pass then turned back to the mission at hand. "I received word we're traveling first to New York where Davis will meet his final Navy contact. From there we will intercept his terrorist. I do have his name…it was on the documents Moore passed before you got to him. We're looking for Dr. Kareem Ahmed. He's a Saudi national but lives in the United States on an H-1 visa. He's got Ph.D.s in Chemistry and Engineering, and he's been working here for the last couple of years. Our new Intel tells us he's the head of a cell of homegrown terrorists and he's in Washington DC of all places."
"Why don't we just go to DC and take him out and leave NCIS to catch the last sailor?"
"No, our instructions stand. We go to New York first and oversee the pick-up and provide tactical support if needed. They're afraid of an ambush."
"In New York? I would have worried more about that here than at home."
"No, for some reason they're worried Davis will have someone come after him. He's made a lot of enemies in the intelligence community over the years. Ahmed may send someone to kill him."
Eve finally asked the question that was burning in her mind. "Will NCIS be told of the risk? Please tell me they're not going in blind."
"Eve…The Company is not sharing that information with anyone. We need NCIS, FBI and even our own people to handle this just as they have every other meeting. We can't let anyone be suspicious that we know anything."
"You're joking, right?"
"No…and neither is the director."
Eve quickly thought through her options; she had a couple. First she could do nothing and let the chips fall where they would. That wasn't acceptable since Tony and Gibbs were at risk, so she turned her mind to option two. She could find a way to warn Tony and Gibbs and pray her agency didn't kill her for it. That seemed to have the better chance of a positive outcome since there was no way in hell that she was going to let Tony go into this blind and unprotected. Even if it went bad for her…well, she had planned for that contingency a long time ago by hiding money and everything she would need for a new identity in her apartment at Calle Ocho. Once she and Tony had become involved she had hidden documents for him as well; it had seemed prudent at the time, and she was grateful for her foresight now.
She turned her gaze back to Trent and smiled. "Okay. Not a problem."
He looked satisfied and leaned back in his chair. "So, are you going to tell me where you were all afternoon?"
Eve rolled her eyes at him and snarked, "I got laid. You should try it sometime."
Kort chuckled and picked up the newspaper. "That's my girl…that whole 'committed relationship' doesn't become you at all."
Eve said nothing, but simply turned her back and stared out the window in silence.
Jeff Davis sat in his small hotel room with his guard and stared at the wall. First Carlos then Stephen killed after meeting with him. He was sure that The Agency had an assassination team following their every move. Could Stephen have been right? Was Eve Dupree even now on his trail? If John were going to send someone then she would be it. He felt a knot of cold fear form in his stomach. If it were she then he had no chance in hell of making it out of here alive. He knew her reputation, and knew she would follow him to the ends of the earth if he was her target. He swore silently. Well, maybe he could turn the tide in his favor a bit. He did have Agent DiNozzo at arm's length. She wouldn't hurt DiNozzo…not in a million years. Now, all he had to do was find a way to contact his ace in the hole. He had a contact that he'd not told anyone about, and that person would be able to free him and snatch DiNozzo in the process… Yeah, his game was not done…Not by a long shot.
Tony settled back into the plane for the long journey back to New York and closed his eyes. He hated waiting to taxi to the runway; it was the longest part of any plane trip. At least his part in this fiasco was almost over, and he and Gibbs would be able to return to DC with their prisoner and go back to the quiet life of catching bad guys. He'd once been enthralled by the spy game, but after spending so much time with Eve he had come to realize how seamy and corrupt it could become. He sighed and finally admitted that he was worried that she wasn't going to make it out of this op alive, and, if she did, would he ever really trust her completely again. He knew and understood why she'd done it, but it didn't make it easier to accept. Knowing the truth was simply knowledge not acceptance. Acceptance would have to come later after much reflection and discussion.
His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he opened it up to see a text message. Text me as soon as you land. I have Intel. Very Impt.
Tony gave another sigh and closed his phone. Apparently she had found something out, and something told him that it wasn't good. He'd known that this assignment was going to suck!
Eve smirked to herself as she closed the burn phone and hid it in her clothes. There was no way in hell that anyone was going to find out what she was doing if she could help it. Tony would be warned and she would still get her man…men…one way or another. Ahmed and Davis were both dead men walking; they just didn't know it yet.
She settled into her seat across from Trent and accepted the bottle of water from him with no comment. He was going to be a problem. It might be time to send him back to John. Now that they were home there was no need to have him following her around. Hmmm…yes, she really did need to make a phone call as soon as they landed.
Kareem Ahmed looked at the room full of his faithful followers and picked the ones he wanted in New York to meet Jeff Davis. The man had been careless and had allowed himself to be captured by the FBI. He was a liability that Ahmed's cell could not afford to have walking around. A well placed sniper would do the trick nicely. With that thought in mind he picked out a group of five men to handle this problem. Once Davis was handled he could turn his attention to his big project. He had spent the last two years working at a chemical engineering firm and had created the perfect form of plastic explosive. It left no trace, and he had decided to test his new invention on something big and very public.
Picking the perfect target was such a problem…he wanted something that would guarantee a high number of fatalities and low risk for his people. It was difficult but not insurmountable. He would find it, and when he did…Fire would rain down on the citizens of the United States; they would get what they deserved…Finally.
John Maxwell looked at the intelligence reports that had been coming his way constantly in the past few hours. Ahmed was planning an attack in Washington within the next few days. He was going to have to up his time table and make sure that New York went off without a hitch so he had all of his people back in DC in time to stop what could be a catastrophe in the making. He knew it was time for Dupree and Kort to show themselves to the team they had been following and give more direct assistance, but he couldn't risk it. Whatever they did was going to have to be off the books and high risk. He knew Dupree would go for it since Tony was involved…Kort, well, maybe it was time he called him back to start working on a solution to Ahmed. That seemed like a useful compromise, so he made a note to contact his team and have Kort report back to Langley as soon as possible.
Gibbs turned his head and saw that Tony was sleeping soundly, so he carefully removed his cell phone from his pocket and checked his messages. It only took him a second to find where Tony had received a cryptic text message from a number he didn't recognize. He knew who it was from, and he also knew that whatever was going on had his gut churning. Gibbs knew he had to trust in two things…Tony and his gut. Tony trusted Eve so Gibbs resolved to do try and do the same. Although, somehow he knew that he was going to end up with an ulcer before this Godforsaken assignment was finally over.
Christ he missed chasing murderers!
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