Consequences of Love and War: Chapter 32
Tony DiNozzo was not in a good mood, and wasn't even trying to hide it.
He stabbed at the 'up' button on the elevator in the NCIS parking garage, quickly getting annoyed and pressing it several more times when the doors didn't automatically open. "Tony," Ziva said softly, stilling his hand with one of her own.
"Sorry," he muttered. The doors slid open a second later to admit the NCIS agent and Mossad liaison. He immediately collapsed against the wall of the metal box, closing his eyes briefly. It had been a banner few days, even for someone who was occasionally convinced that the world was out to get him. A trip to the Hamptons to chase down a lead that ended up going nowhere, a trip where nothing was accomplished other than the burning of the last cinders of his bridge with his father; a case that they were no closer to solving than they were when they first heard that Dr. Aachen was abducted; and now, another lead, which would probably lead them the exact same place as all their other leads—nowhere.
So he was in a bad mood. At least Ziva had enough sense not to try to get him to talk about it—yet. He was actually surprised about that; she had been strangely silent during the drive back from the Hamptons, spending a good deal of time texting on her phone, probably sending super-cryptic messages to her various contacts around the world. The thought of her sending a text message saying the werewolf howls at midnight was enough to make him smile slightly.
Whatever the reasons for her silence, he was pretty sure the nagging about what was bothering him would start as soon as they walked into whichever one of their apartments they'd be spending the night. He loved her, but sometimes the incessant need to know everything he was thinking was a bit much.
"Probie," he snapped as soon as the doors opened at the squad room. He was strangely pleased that his tone caused the junior agent to look up from his work quickly, a slightly panicked look in his eyes. "What've we got?"
"Uh, Kirkan got this email," McGee replied, gesturing to the plasma screen. "Actually, that was sent to the publishing house a few days ago, just came to our attention when it arrived in Lyndi Crenshaw's inbox this morning. Abby and I traced the originating ISP using—"
"Am I going to understand this explanation?" DiNozzo interrupted. McGee frowned.
"Uh, probably not, Boss. Tony." He closed his eyes briefly at the slip, knowing full well he'd be hearing about it later. DiNozzo just smirked, but didn't say anything as he studied the brief message on the screen.
"There is not much there," Ziva finally said. Tony was aware of the fact that she was standing just a little bit close to be entirely professional, but Ziva never was one for personal space to begin with. "They do not even specify how to get the ransom to them or a deadline for delivery."
"Right," McGee agreed, standing to join the two of them in the staring at the email, as if by the three of them studied it long enough, the answers would jump out at them. "Ducky is analyzing it to do a psychological autopsy on the person who wrote it."
"What is there to analyze?" DiNozzo asked with a frown. "The whole thing's three lines long." McGee just shrugged. Tony continued to stare at the screen for a long minute before he shrugged a shoulder and turned away. "I'm gonna go check in with Abby," he said abruptly before turning and heading for the elevators. McGee watched him walk away before turning to Ziva.
"Why does he need to check in with Abby?" he asked, confused. "There isn't any forensics on this case."
Ziva smiled thinly as she turned to sit at her own desk. "He is worried that she will never speak to him again if he does not report everything that happened at the party."
"But she watched the whole thing as it was happening," McGee said, still confused. "She was in MTAC." Ziva chuckled and shook her head.
"And do you think Abby will be satisfied without hearing it from the donkey's mouth?"
"Horse's, Ziva. The expression is, hearing it from the horse's mouth." Her lips quirked into a smile.
"I think mine is more appropriate, yes?" she said teasingly. McGee was confused for a few seconds before he picked up on what she was saying. He grinned at her insinuation, but didn't say anything. "Is there anything you need me to follow up on?" Ziva asked, gesturing at the plasma screen as she got back to business.
"Uh, not at the moment," he replied. "Gibbs disappeared with Kirkan awhile ago, probably giving him a pep talk over coffee or something." She raised her eyebrows.
"Gibbs giving a pep talk?" she asked, only half joking. McGee shrugged as he returned his attention to his computer screen.
They continued to work in silence for a few minutes before McGee's curiosity got the better of him. "Did you know that Tony's trying to get his own team?" he blurted out abruptly. Ziva looked up at him, a slightly confused expression on his face, and it suddenly hit him that he wasn't the person she should be hearing this from. And then that expression was replaced with one that was akin to a smirk as she glanced back down at her computer screen.
"Believe it or not, McGee, Tony and I do speak outside of work," she said, her tone somewhere between mocking and serious. He felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment at the thought that she didn't know what was going on with the man she had been dating for two years.
"Right," was the only thing he could think to say. There was a slightly thoughtful look on Ziva's face before she stood and crossed the bullpen to stand in front of his desk.
"Tim," she said gently, and he mentally cringed. She only used his first name when she was about to say something either especially serious or that he wouldn't like, and she only used that tone of voice when she was about to break big news—usually, news he wouldn't like. "Why do you think Tony is trying to get a new posting?"
"Uh, I guess I assumed he was just tired of working for Gibbs." She raised her eyebrows at that with a knowing expression on her face. "Oh," he said as realization hit him.
"He loves his job, Tim," she said. "It is because of me." Now he frowned.
"Are you tired of working for Gibbs?" he asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. To his relief, she shook her head.
"I also love my job," she replied, "but my director does not. He has threatened multiple times to terminate the liaison position between Mossad and NCIS." She hesitated slightly, never all that comfortable with talking about her life outside of work, but continued speaking. "Neither Tony nor I is happy with the idea of him staying here while I am assigned elsewhere. And you know Tony is ready for his own team."
He did know that—he'd known it since DiNozzo did have his own team, years ago. "So you're hoping that Tony will get a job somewhere that Director Ruthven will allow you to go," he stated, finally catching on. She nodded. "How long have you guys been working on this?"
She hesitated again before answering. "Tony spoke to Vance about the possibility of taking Agent Burley's position about a year ago."
"A year?" he asked incredulously. "You guys have been keeping this a secret for a year? Tony can't keep what he had for breakfast a secret for five minutes!"
"He is amazingly good at doing so when it is within his best interests," Ziva pointed out with a tight smile.
"True," he acknowledged, thinking about the year-long undercover romance with Dr. Jeanne Benoit. He knew better than to bring up one man's past girlfriends with his current one—especially when said current girlfriend was a trained killer with no fewer than three weapons within reach—so he kept quiet on that particular topic. He cleared his throat slightly. "So… You guys are going to be going to Bahrain?"
Ziva shrugged a shoulder before turning to return to her own desk, and when he saw her face again, he saw a brief flash of… something he had never seen on Ziva's face, before her usual nonchalant expression returned. Uncertainty? Worry? He didn't know what adjective would properly describe it. He bet Kirkan would have, though. There was reason why the man had four New York Times bestsellers to his name. "Vance has not yet made his decision," she said, interrupting his train of thought. She glanced up again to meet his eyes and smiled slightly. "Do not worry, McGee," she said, her usual teasing lilt back in her voice. "We will be sure to give you a forwarding address before we go anywhere."
"Well, that's good to know," he said dryly, but with a smile. She grinned at him before focusing back on her computer, ready to get back to figuring out exactly where Dr. Alyse Aachen could be and who could have her.