Out of town but back now with another update!
I am posting on my phone for the first (and last!) time so apologies for any mistakes
Ziva was panting heavily by the time she made it back to her apartment. She had missed her run yesterday, and the crisp morning air and steady pounding of her feet against the pavement were so calming and familiar that she had done her regular loop twice. The shower was running when she opened the front door, nodding to the two agents in the hallway. It was warm in here, and she stripped off her windbreaker and top and threw them down the hallway. She made her way to the kitchen and fished around for a Gatorade, taking several long gulps.
She was just finishing off her drink, staring out the windows over the beautiful fall day when she heard the bathroom door open.
"Zizi, the shower is yours…" Tali's voice faded off, and Ziva turned to see her dressed in jeans and a sweater, frozen in the movement of drying her hair with a towel. She was staring horrified at Ziva.
"What's wrong?" Ziva said, taking a few quick steps to her side. Talia grabbed her shoulders and turned her back around, gasping. She was confused for a moment, but then closed her eyes and groaned.
"Ziva," she choked, running a hand over her sister's back. Underneath the sports bra, Talia could clearly see the faded white lines of countless scars and burns crisscrossing Ziva's skin. She lightly traced a particularly long and deep one down her spine to where it dipped under her running pants.
"It is nothing. Past injuries," Ziva said, turning back around, arms wrapping self-consciously around her waist to hide similar marks there.
"Torture, is what it is!" Talia's eyes flashed angry now. "No more lies, Ziva. What happened to you?"
Ziva opened her mouth to argue but could see already she would lose this battle. She knew that she owed Talia answers, but it followed too soon on the heels of yesterday's difficult revelations.
"I spent three months as a prisoner in a terrorist camp," Ziva said simply, looking down to her finger as it tapped agitatedly against the side of the gatorade bottle.
Tali gasped, squeezing Ziva's shoulder hard. "Where? When? HOW?" She whispered.
"Last year in Somalia," Ziva shrugged. "I was on a mission and was captured."
"For NCIS?" Tali asked, confused.
Ziva shook her head. "No, no I was still Mossad. It was just after the incident with Michael. I had a...falling out...with NCIS and returned to Israel."
"A falling out? Why? And what exactly were you doing with Mossad that you ended up in the Somalian desert?" Tali asked, her voice hardening.
"I was on a mission…" Ziva hedged, but sighed when she saw again that Talia would not be put off. "For Metsada," she added reluctantly.
Talia's eyes bulged at this. "Metsada?" She repeated in disbelief. Ziva nodded.
"You…you joined Kidon after I 'died', didn't you?" Talia whispered, and for the first time in the last few days she looked as if she may not want to hear anything more.
"I was the sharp end of the spear," Ziva said, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "Eli groomed me for many, many years to be as such. I have done things that I am not proud of, Talia."
"And…and so Papa sent you to, what? Assassinate a terrorist, and you got caught?" Tali continued, shaking her head and trying to push past this revelation.
Ziva grimaced, knowing how much more of the story was missing in that statement, but she nodded as it was essentially true.
"God Ziva…I'm so sorry," Tali said, looking down at the hand she intertwined with Ziva's. "It makes much more sense now why you're so angry and bitter towards him. I can't believe he would put you in such an awful position and then take three months to rescue you."
She must have felt Ziva tense, because she looked back up, confused. Ziva swallowed hard, "Eli did not rescue me."
"He…he couldn't find you?"
"Talia, Eli chose to leave me there. He wrote me off as a casualty of the greater cause and left me there to die," Ziva whispered.
She shook her head, slowly at first but then determinedly. "No. You're just mistaken. He must have looked for you and couldn't find you…If you would just ask him…"
"Don't you think I did? He was here in DC, last year; the only time I have seen him since. And he admitted as much to me."
She continued shaking her head as if she still didn't believe it. "Then how did you escape?"
Talia grew even more concerned as she watched Ziva's face glaze over, the memories obviously flooding her. "Gibbs and Tony and Tim came to Somalia and rescued me. I had been horrible to them; I betrayed their trust and made some unforgivable accusations. They even thought I had already died, and yet still they came halfway around the world. And they brought me home, to DC. That is why I am here; why I became a citizen. They are my family now."
Talia released Ziva's hand and went to sit on the couch. "I can't believe Abba is capable of all of this," she whispered to herself.
Ziva took a deep breath and sat beside her. "Our father has done some heinous things, Talia. Things I can never forgive. And I know this does not match with the loving father you remember. But he always had a soft spot for you, and I truly believe that he wanted you to be safe and free of the path that he set for Ari and me."
Talia chewed on her bottom lip. "I...I just don't know what to think anymore. I was planning on calling him but now…"
Ziva squeezed her hand. "Don't let my opinions affect you. You do whatever you need to. If you want a relationship with him, I am sure he will welcome it with open arms."
She stood then heading towards the bathroom. "Ziva?" Talia called out. "Does it still...hurt?" She said her voice catching on the last word as her eyes skimmed Ziva's scarred torso.
Ziva opened her mouth but closed it quickly again, shaking her head. "I am fine Talia. Don't worry about me."
"Where's Tali?" Tony asked as Ziva came around her desk, dropping her bag.
"Down in Abby's lab; she was very curious after hearing all about it at dinner. Agent Griffiths is with her." She sighed, more than a little reluctant to leave her endlessly curious sister with a chatty Abby, but she needed to know what was going on with the case. "So what do we know?"
McGee tapped at his keyboard as two images appeared on the plasma. "We've positively ID'd the two assailants as Lubich...Luu-bick Verdol and Petar Stankic...Stan-kiss," he stumbled over the names.
"Larry and Curly," Tony interrupted, standing from his desk and looking at the screen. "Both members of the Nula Osam gang, which stands for…"
"Zero Eight, 2008, I know," Ziva nodded, frowning. "The Osams have alliances with Palestinian terrorists; they are watched carefully at Mossad. How in the world were they allowed in the country?"
"Because they were traveling under aliases with bogus papers," McGee answered, hitting a few buttons and two visa scans appeared on screen. "Took a while but we finally found them. These are high end forgeries, passed through customs two days ago at Dulles squeaky clean."
"Well considering who they count as friends, I can't say that I'm surprised. Any leads?"
"They took the Washington Flyer Coach from the airport to the Falls Church metro station. It was during rush hour though, and we lost them in the crowd-"
"Until I had a brilliant thought," Tony interrupted again, smirking at McGee.
"It was my idea, Tony."
"Whatever McGoo, just load the hotel camera clips." He turned his attention back to Ziva. "Our Staff Sergeant was staying at the Latham Hotel, very swanky for an E-6 making less than I do, but maybe he was trying to impress a certain young la…" His voice trailed off as Ziva glared at him. He coughed, continuing quickly. "Anyway, we ran through the hotel surveillance. Here we have Zupan leaving to meet Talia for dinner, and skulking there in the lobby…" He froze the image, zooming in.
"Larry and Curly," Ziva said grimly, watching the two men following Zupan at a distance.
"You got it. They followed him all night, waiting for the perfect chance…"
"And that means they had plenty of time to get a good look at Talia. Damn..." Ziva sighed, chewing on her bottom lip. "Do we have any idea if they are still in country?"
Tony and McGee exchanged a look. "We keep hitting dead ends. We tried to locate other cellphones in the area at the time of the attack but they must have had theirs turned off. We obviously issued BOLOs and travel alerts on their photos and aliases, but so far, they seem to be laying low."
"They could be hiding out from their own people," Gibbs said, coming down the stairs. "Just spoke to Major Jackson again. His sources finally came through with some intel. Seems Crncevic's son made a grab at daddy's spot in the organization. There's a lot of dissension between those who were loyal to Luka Senior and those who are vying for power under the new leadership. Still no intel on who sent these two after Zupan, but it seems Crncevic is none too pleased with them now."
"Wait, Crncevic Senior or Junior?" McGee interrupted.
Gibbs leveled a glare at him for the seemingly trivial question. "Both, McGee! Best Major Jackson can tell, they've been blackballed; they haven't picked up any chatter about a witness or orders to pursue it further.
"Maybe they'll just make a run for it?" Tony offered hopefully.
"I am certainly not going to bet my sister's life on it..."
Gibbs nodded. "Ziva, I need you here today. There's a few recordings they're sending over that I want you to translate yourself in case the Major's people missed something. McGee, you and Abby go back over the surveillance tapes and Zupan's cell phone records and see if my people missed anything. Tony, you're with Talia; make sure Griffiths stays with you." Gibbs drained the last of the coffee from his cup and scowled down at it. He dropped it into the trashcan, already heading for the elevator.
"On it boss!" Tony called after him but then ambled towards Tim's desk and sat down on the corner to examine the frowning probie. "What's got your gut in a twist, McMiniGibbs?" He asked.
"What are you talking about, Tony?" He sighed impatiently.
"There was a reason you wanted clarification between Crncevic Senior and Junior. Why?"
McGee's mouth twisted slightly as he looked at the reports on his screen. "Just a feeling I got from reading through the files on the Osams. There was a lot of tension between father and son, and I'm not entirely convinced that Junior wants daddy out of prison…"
Tony nodded seriously. "Wouldn't be the first time someone grabbed power and would be reluctant to give it back. Keep looking into it McGee. And don't let Gibbs bowl you over like that," he added quietly.
Tim looked up at him, perplexed. "Okay. Thanks? I'll send Talia up here when she's ready to leave…."
Tony watched McGee leave for Abby's lab before returning to his desk, ignoring the heavy feel of Ziva's gaze on him. "That was very...nice of you." He tried not to be offended by the surprise in her tone and shot her a playful look.
"Seeing you go all mother hen has my big brother side feeling warm and fuzzy," he smirked.
Ziva laughed, but it trailed off as Tony's attention turned to his computer screen. Right at the end there, his joking expression slipped and she saw that he had been one hundred percent serious.
Tim nodded to Agent Griffiths when he stepped off the elevator. He paused outside the doorway to Abby's lab and could just make out hushed whisperings.
"Tony felt horrible about it of course but it really wasn't his fault...then it was a really long summer, and I wasn't sure if Ziva would forgive him once the team was all back together..."
"ABBY!"
The conspiratorial whispers broke off as Tim came into the room, shooting an angry look at the two suddenly guilty women.
"I CAN'T believe you told her Tony killed Rivkin!" Tim admonished quietly and both sets of eyes grew even wider.
Abby froze in horror for a full three seconds before she punched him hard in the arm. "TIM! I was telling her that Tony missed the citizenship ceremony and then you were all scattered in Miami and Canada and Mexico looking for Paloma this summer…"
Even as she was explaining it, Tali had already started talking over her. "TONY killed Michael?"
"Oh shit, Ziva is going to kill me," Tim moaned, wishing desperately he could take back the last twenty seconds. He looked at a still-shocked Abby, his eyes silently begging her to fix this.
"Ok, this is so, SO not our place to say," she said, nervously twisting her spiked cuff around her wrist. "But the alternative is that you go ask Ziva about it and she kills the two of us while leaving absolutely no forensic evidence…" With a quick glance at the empty doorway and another glare at McGee, she explained in hushed tones. "Ziva went back to Israel three summers ago and her relationship with Rivkin heated up...again, I guess? I had no idea they were together when they were younger but after what you said last night…"
"Abby!" Tim groaned.
"Right, sorry. Anyways, they kinda dated until the following spring and he came here and got tangled up in a case we were working on a terrorist cell. He killed an ICE agent and planted some evidence and when Tony found out that it may implicate Ziva, he went to her apartment to talk to her. But Michael was there and there was a fight and Tony ended up shooting him in self-defense."
"Oh God, I can only imagine what that did to Ziva," Talia whispered, her eyes troubled.
Abby nodded. "It wasn't pretty. She and Tony had a pretty big bust up over it and…um…" She trailed off suddenly, glancing to McGee for an assist in how to neatly wrap up the explanation without delving into the subsequent summer.
"And then Ziva stayed in Israel to take a Kidon assignment that led her to Somalia and months of imprisonment," Talia said angrily and now the other two turned to stare agape at her. She just shrugged, "Ziva told me this morning but only the bare essentials. And she told me you all rescued her from there, so thank you…"
"It was mostly Tony," McGee offered quietly. "He refused to stop until Saleem paid for Ziva's death...well at the time we thought she was dead."
"Sounds familiar," Talia sighed and Abby gave her a sad smile. "They have an odd relationship, Tony and my sister…"
"You have nooo idea," Abby drawled and Talia's gaze turned openly curious at the implication in her tone. Abby exchanged a quick glance with Tim, and he knew her well enough to see that she was dangling this intriguing distraction to stop Talia from delving any deeper into the disaster that was 2009.
"Care to enlighten me?" Talia prodded.
"Oh even if I wasn't afraid Ziva would kill me with a Post-It note for gossiping, it would still take me hours to explain their screwy little...thing…" Abby said with a frantic wave of her hand. "Insanely volatile chemistry and deranged mutual dependence is a pretty good summation though I think. Right McGee?"
Tim scowled as she lobbed the conversation at him when he was doing his best to meld onto the computer stool. "Umm, yeah, that's one way of putting it. The sexual tension is normally enough to choke me and Gibbs in the car or bullpen," he grumbled under his breath.
"So haven't they ever…" Talia pressed and she got two simultaneous answers.
"NO!"
"I think so…"
Tim's refutation was still ringing loudly as he turned to glare at Abby. "They were undercover and faking it!"
"I know!" Abby stressed even as Talia looked ready to interrupt and ask what exactly they were faking. "But I still think they had a little thing going on when Gibbs took his Mexican sabbatical."
"Did Tony or Ziva ever actually cop to it?"
"Are you kidding me, McGee? Do you think I'd still be standing here if I'd asked them about it? Besides, you worked closest to them, didn't you have your suspicions?"
"I've gotten really good and ignoring them Abs."
"Anyway," Talia interjected, sensing that this was a familiar pattern between these two. "Do you think it's just this silly rule eleven-"
"Twelve," Abby corrected.
"Twelve...that has kept them apart?"
"Again, it would take a Lifetime mini-series to properly explain the crazy track those two have been on since day-one. Fake relationships, real relationships, death and bombs and shootings and movie quotes and sodium-pentathol-induced admissions. Plus they both have permanent passes on the inability-to-communicate express, so…"
"So you're just going to butt out and mind your own business, right Abs?" Tony asked loudly as all three of them jumped. Tim turned quickly back to the computer screen and Talia had the grace to look properly abashed but Abby just smiled.
"I wouldn't be me if I did that DiNozzo, and you know ya love me just the way I am," she said smugly.
"Mmmhmmm," Tony mumbled but let it go. "Talia, you want to hang out here or you ready to go? Ziva's gonna be here for awhile so you're stuck with me."
"We can go. I have some plans for this afternoon. Thanks you guys for...showing me the lab."
Abby gave a little wave as they made their way back to the elevator, getting into the car with Agent Griffiths. "So, Tony…"
"Tali, this afternoon's conversation topics will include the weather, books, favorite foods, and movies, specifically testing your knowledge of the British comedy genre. All other topics are on the prohibited list, okay?" He said teasingly but with enough of a serious undertone that Talia met his stare and acquiesced.
Her grin was resigned. "Fair enough."