A/N: Wow, such amazing response for the last chapter. Thank you so much!
You all did your job too, by correcting me—I now know the kid from Honor Code was Zach and Carson was from Lost and Found. Sorry! But honestly, this is proof of your wonderfulness, so if you caught it, you should be proud. And I learned my lesson—rule number 2: never assume, always double check. I am now going to go check to make sure that's rule number 2… Nope, it's number 3. See? I'm learning, thanks to you.
Annnyway. Here's today's chapter. Some things will make more sense today, and a question or two may be answered, but in true NCIS style (I learn from Shane Brennan), you may have to wait until things are really clear.
Oh, and did I leave you all without any break lines for the last chapter? So sorry! I'll go check and fix.
Enjoy!
Tony leaned up against the plastered wall of Ziva's hallway, breathing heavily, beads of sweat moistening his forehead. He had barely missed two bullets as he fired three of his own, knocking down the shooter before him. He was almost surprised to find his gun still in his hands as he made his way to the shooter. Tony kicked away the shooter's gun and stared intently at the face before him. It was nondescript, though his olive skin and dark hair and distinct Middle Eastern features suggested such a background.
Tony sighed and pulled out his cell phone and dialed speed dial 1. "Hey, Boss," He answered.
Tony stood in the apartment building hallway, several feet down the hall from Ziva's apartment. Inside, McGee and Levin were photographing the crime scene and collecting evidence. Law enforcement personnel had swarmed the building almost immediately after the incident, Gibbs practically tailing them with his team, followed by a quick stand down for jurisdiction. Ducky and Palmer had arrived only minutes ago, and Gibbs was now questioning Tony.
"Why'd you come here, DiNozzo?" He finally asked.
Tony shrugged, but his eyes were certain. "Gut feeling,"
"You thought you'd find her here?"
"I did," He said. He nodded towards the apartment. "You check out that book yet?"
"Not yet,"
"Ziva left me a note,"
"A note?"
"Said she knew I'd come. Said she was okay for right now,"
"And?" Gibbs prodded, knowing there was more.
"Remember that case we had a few years back, with that kid, Zach, and his missing dad?"
"Yeah," Gibbs said, remembering his affection for the little boy, mature beyond his years.
"Ziva wrote about it,"
"What'd she have to say?"
"Ziva has better memory than anyone I've ever met, but in her letter, she called Zach, 'Carson,'" It felt incredible to use her name in the present tense for the first time in so long.
"Carson was the kid whose dad kidnapped him," Gibbs recalled.
"Yeah, and he was nearly convicted by a couple of Metro PD cops when they planted evidence,"
"Planted evidence," Gibbs repeated. "The scene at Holt's house. He was set up. So was she,"
Tony nodded. "And that's not all. She told me about how she thought Carson's, or, well, Zach's dad had abandoned him for money or whatever, but then she realized he was coerced into leaving,"
"She's talking about herself,"
"She was coerced, Boss," Tony confirmed.
Gibbs sighed and looked around. "We still have a lot of missing pieces, DiNozzo, like why she left. The note say that too?"
"Nope,"
"Then what are we supposed to do? Wait for her to suddenly reappear with the answers?"
"Ziva said she knew I'd find her,"
"She wants you to look?"
"She left clues,"
"Clues," Gibbs repeated skeptically. "This isn't one of your movies, DiNozzo,"
"Gibbs, the dishes were all put away but she left her toothbrush. Half her clothes are missing but the trash was taken out. Then there was the name switch with Carson and Zach. Ahe volunteered to pick up Holt. She was impatient all morning, like she was waiting for something,"
"You think she knew it was coming,"
"That blood, it was frozen first. She had time to plan this, but she didn't know exactly when this would be,"
"They called her that morning,"
"It had to be the restricted number, the one we couldn't break," Tony agreed. "McGee's still running it through his program thingy,"
"The clothes?"
"My guess is she knew she'd be somewhere where she'd need clothes but could replace her toothbrush. The overachiever she is, she probably did the dishes and trash so it wouldn't stink up the place,"
"Smart kid," Gibbs commented.
"Yeah," Tony agreed.
"She leave any other 'clues?'"
"The place was clean, Gibbs. Like, really clean. Books were organized in this psycho order. Nothing was left lying around, except for the book,"
"And this," McGee said, appearing in the hallway, an evidence bag in his hand. It was the song book from the piano.
"Music?" Gibbs said, his brow furrowing impossibly more.
Tony sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets. "The summer you quit," he began, catching Gibbs' eye. "Retired… The summer you retired, Ziva taught be me piano. We were learning this duet,"
Gibbs took the bag in his hands. "You any good, DiNozzo?"
"Started my lessons again a few weeks ago. Pretty good, I guess,"
McGee turned to Tony. "So wait, I can't use lotion, but you can take piano lessons?"
"It was in honor of my dead partner, McGee! Your lotion was for your… feminine glow,"
"Sensitive skin," he corrected. McGee glared at him a little, but disappeared back into the apartment.
"Boss, I think Ziva's gonna contact us," Tony returned to the original conversation.
"How's she gonna do that?"
"No clue. But she will," Gibbs continued to stare at him. Tony sighed restlessly. "Last summer--"
"Summers busy for you, DiNozzo?"
"Yes, they are," Tony said. "But last summer when you guys came and got me on the Seahawk, Ziva said something to me, something about getting orders and following them, even if you don't like them,"
"And?"
"She said it again in the note,"
"Orders," Gibbs repeated. "From who?"
Tony shrugged. "She got orders but she was coerced… I don't get it either,"
Gibbs looked down and nodded as he realized. "Mossad,"
"You think Mossad was behind this?"
"Yeah, I do,"
Tony stared at Gibbs for a long moment. "Me too,"
Tony was shocked to find himself falling asleep so easily that night. The past two days had been invigorating. Knowing Ziva was alive had given him a new energy and the sweetest peace. He had had this feeling of anxiousness and excitement fluttering inside him since he found out the truth, but had ignored it until now. He had been certain he wouldn't be able to sleep with this new knowledge, this new hope of seeing her again. It was almost too good to be true, and he found himself pinching his arm now and then, just to make sure.
Gibbs had ordered Tony to go home and sleep once again, now having full assurance that Ziva was safe. McGee and Levin followed suit, but Gibbs placed Tony under protective custody, posting a full team in and around his building. If the shooter had been carrying out a hit, then the "client" most definitely find another to finish the job. Though Tony had protested the idea, he was relieved to not be on full alert, and he soon fell into the kindest of sleep.