Chapter 13
There was tension in the air all around NCIS Headquarters. Vance and the SecNav were in his office awaiting the Director of Mossad, while Gibbs, Ziva, Ducky, Jimmy and Abby waited for Gibbs' and Ziva's invitation to MTAC.
"I know that Anthony has a flair for the dramatic, but this seems like a rather elaborate staking of a goat to attract a predator," said Ducky.
"Bodnar has a hit list and DiNozzo made sure to offer him a lot of targets, Duck," said Gibbs.
Gibbs sat at his desk sipping a large coffee. At her desk, Ziva sat quietly deep in her thoughts. If this went well tonight then she'd have to make a decision. Director Elbaz had offered a unique opportunity to return to her homeland and once again be part of Israel. She had missed Israel. She missed the people, friends, family, and love of her homeland. Yes, Eli soured some of that for her, but not all of it, and the idea of being able to help Israel appealed to her. Yet, she had come to love America and felt she had family and friends here also.
Of course, there was also the offer Tony made to her. He wanted them to get married. It seemed almost ridiculous to even consider. She and Tony had strong, very strong, emotions for each other, but she wasn't sure if marriage was a good idea with them. They were both set in their ways and prone to being a little hot headed. And, there was so much history between them, history which was both amazing and painful.
No, she had a great deal to consider. Her future was in the balance and she needed to decide where it lay. Was it time to go home, or was it time to make a home here?
"Ziver, have you spoken to DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked her breaking her out of her womb of thoughts.
"Oh, um, no, Gibbs," she replied.
"Why not?" asked Abby, who was seated on the edge of her desk.
"He has been busy and I," she paused for a moment, "and I have been avoiding him."
"Why, my dear?" asked Ducky.
"Because we have much to talk about," she said.
"Ahh, delaying the inevitable," said Ducky. "It is a natural defense for us to avoid overly emotional or overly complex problems until we must face them."
"Also, stupid," said Gibbs. "Once this is over, Ziver, talk to him."
"I will, Gibbs," said Ziva.
"I wonder how he is doing?" asked Abby.
"Knowing DiNozzo, he is annoying everyone with nonstop talk right now," smiled Gibbs.
NCIS
For this setup, they had rented a suite and the rooms on either side of the suite, as well as making sure the whole floor was cleared. It was difficult convincing the Hyatt Regency to go along with this potential destructive and deadly plan, but the SecNav himself had assured all costs for repairs and other sundries would be covered. Now the suite was wired with mics and cameras. Malachi, Tony, a doppelganger for Orli Elbaz and the SecNav were waiting in the living room. Liat and Ray awaited in the bedroom, while a SWAT team took up the apart on either side of them. It was a trap waiting to be sprung.
Dinner was to be served at eight o'clock, which would be the perfect moment for Bodnar to make his move. It was now seven. They had an hour to wait.
"If this was a film, I wonder who would star in it in my role. I'm thinking Steve McQueen. Yeah, McQueen. He could be earthy, street smart, and cool, but he also could be suave and sophisticated. McQueen could even pull off a turtleneck," said Tony, as he pulled at the bullet proof vest under his linen white dress shirt.
"Steve McQueen is dead," said Malachi sounding bored.
"True, but he would have been prefect for the role. Now, if I had to go with a living actor, then I'm thinking George Clooney or maybe someone out of the box like Bradley Cooper," Tony pontificated.
"I liked him in that Hangover movie," said Malachi.
"Great movie. I think Bradley Cooper is underrated in it. He's the glue that holds those movies together," smiled Tony. "Actually, I think he is underrated in all his movies. I thought he was great in The A Team."
"I have seen only the one movie," said Malachi.
"You should cut back on the assassinating of terrorists and spying and see some more movies, Malachi. We only live once, so don't waste it working all the time, You got to leave some for frivolity," said Tony.
"Maybe so, but my country expects a great deal from me, which doesn't leave time for movies and even less for frivolity," said Malachi.
"I worked for Gibbs and still managed to see movies. You have no excuse," smirked Tony.
"If this was a comedy I'd go with Bradley Cooper," said Malachi.
"I'm not too sure about that," said Tony. "He has too much five o'clock shadow."
NCIS
The elevator stopped and the ding announced the arrival of VIPs. Orli Elbaz walked off the elevator along with Deputy Director Craig and her four body guards. As they headed towards the stairs, Craig motioned for Gibbs and Ziva to join them. Without hesitation both of them got up and joined the entourage.
They headed up the stairs and gathered at MTAC. While Craig let them in by allowing his retina to be scanned, Elbaz's bodyguards took up their position outside of MTAC. They entered where Vance, the SecNav, and Tom Morrow from Homeland Security were already waiting. As they headed down the stairs to join the them, Elbaz spoke to Ziva in Hebrew.
"Have you decided yet about my offer?" she asked.
"No."
"I cared for your father, Ziva. I would like to continue his work with his daughter. Come home, come back to Mossad," she said.
Ziva looked at her and frowned. It was a tempting offer. She missed Israeli and what little blood family she had left was there. Yet, her time in DC had taught her that there were more than just blood relatives. She had another family here in DC and Gibbs was the head of that family. She would miss them greatly if she left and took that offer. Of course, there was also Tony. His offer was the counter to Elbaz's offer.
Ziva had been avoiding thinking about Tony's offer. In some ways it was too overwhelming for her. All those years were they danced around each other had made her believe they would never be together, but now they had the opportunity and she wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. There was so much history between them, so much good and bad.
"We would make a great team," said Elbaz.
"I am part of a team already," Ziva replied.
"Trust me, Ziva, you are missed at Mossad. It is time for you to come home where you belong."
They saddled up to the rest of the group. Gibbs looked at Ziva with eyes that made her believe he understood the whole conversation. She smiled tentatively at him and he nodded back and smiled at her.
"Bring up the cameras in the suite," said Vance.
On the MTAC screen the screen broke into four sections with each section showing a different perspective of the large living room area. It appeared that Tony and Malachi were joking and laughing while everyone else appeared tense. Gibbs smirked at this. It was DiNozzo being DiNozzo.
"The goat is staked, so all we are doing is waiting for the predator," said Elbaz.
"Yes, Madam Director," said Vance.
"Waiting has always been my least favorite part of the job and what I do most as I get older," said Morrow.
"I know that feeling all too well," said Vance.
"When is Bodnar expected?" asked the SecNav.
"When he gets there, sir," said Vance. "This is a trap. He has to decide to step into it. We have no control over him, except to offer him opportunities."
"Let's hope that he takes an opportunity soon," growled the SecNav.
"He will. He wants me dead and Bodnar does not like to delay gratification," said Elbaz.
"We are counting on that," said Vance.
Craig sighed, as he stood beside Gibbs.
"The man wants to see the Mideast burn and the bastard has killed too many good people," mumbled Craig.
Just then on the screen, they saw the group react to a knock on the door. One of the potential spots for a hit was when the mail was being served. Everyone got into position. Ziva watched Tony, as he reached for his gun then placed it under his thigh so he could easily grab it and start firing.
The door opened and waiters started wheeling in food. Immediately one of the waiters was recognizable as Bodnar, even though he had dyed his hair blonde. The fake Elbaz had her back to him, so he had noticed the fraud yet.
"Bring up the sound so we can hear what is being said," demanded Vance.
"There are four waiters. There must be at least two more somewhere," said Elbaz.
"Just serve us and leave," said Malachi.
Tony smiled.
"Unless you want to stay for dessert, Bodnar," said Tony.
Bodnar stopped what he was doing, stood up straight, and stared at Tony. He shook his head and smiled.
"DiNozzo, has anyone ever told you that you were a pain in the ass?" Bodnar asked him.
"Yes, just about everyone who knows me. It's a gift," smiled Tony.
"I can understand why they would. I am tired of you," said Bodnar.
"I hope you are willing to come into custody without a problem and not play Butch and Sundance," said Tony.
"I like cowboy movies," smiled Bodnar.
Bodnar looked at his men and yelled out in Hebrew, "Shoot them!"
Mayhem broke out in the hotel room, as sub machine guns were pulled out from under the food carts and started firing. Tony started firing his weapon. Ziva tried to follow the action as best as she could, but stray bullets took out several of the cameras right away. Seconds of actions appeared to take hours, as time became meaningless. The sounds of screams, yelling, and bullets filled up MTAC, as they watched from the single angle of a single camera, which allowed them to watch one man die from gunshot wounds. Finally, the shooting stopped, as the one remaining camera stayed focused in on a single dead body of one of the waiters.
"Men down! Men down! Van, we need buses here for injured," came a voice.
Vance reacted immediately. He looked over at the MTAC technicians and ordered, "Patch me into the van now."
"Go, sir," said the tech.
"This is Director Vance. I want a sitrep," he said.
"This is McGee," came a familiar voice. "We are working on getting a sitrep now, sir. Agent Talbot will be reporting to me soon."
"McGee, I want to now the disposition of Bodnar and those in the hotel suite and I want it ASAP," Vance said.
"Yes, sir," said McGee.
Everything went silent, as McGee went to check on the situation. Ziva looked over at Gibbs, who stood stone faced and staring at the MTAC screen. The body that they were staring at was now finally being moved. Ziva found herself doing something she had done regularly as a child but seldom did as an adult and that was pray.
"Sir," came McGee's voice over the system.
"I'm here, McGee," said Vance.
"Bodnar is dead," he said.
A sigh of relief went through the room. The man that killed her father was dead. Ziva took a deep breath then released it. Elbaz turned and hugged Tom Morrow. The man was a threat to peace and he was dead. The relief by many in the room could be felt. Ziva and Gibbs stared at Vance, who also waited for more information.
"Officer Malachi is seriously injured from gunshot wounds and being rushed to the nearest hospital. Officer Tuvia is in the ambulance with him," said McGee.
Elbaz nodded her head then turned and headed out of MTAC. She was waiting to hear any more of it.
"Officers Riva is dead, as well as Special Agent Sale, Thornton, and Simons are dead. Assistant Director DiNozzo is," McGee paused.
Everyone waited to hear what had happened to Tony. Gibbs reached over and placed his arm around Ziva's shoulder. He squeezed as if to give her assurance.
"Assistant Director DiNozzo is on his way to Georgetown Medical Center, which was the nearest trauma center," said McGee. "Only one of Bodnar's men is alive and he is being transported to Georgetown, also."
"Seriousness of DiNozzo's injuries?" asked Vance.
"One bullet in the shoulder, one in the left thigh, several contusions to the body where the body armor stopped bullets. He is having trouble breathing, though. With his history, there is a fear of lung damage."
"Goddamn it," said Vance.
"Come on, Ziva," said Gibbs. "We are due at Georgetown. Let's collect everyone and go."
Vance looked over at Gibbs and nodded his approval.
"Agent McGee, with DiNozzo down, you are in charge of the scene," said Vance. "Get it in order and begin working it."
"Yes, sir."
NCIS
The hospital was quite. Except for the ER, hospitals were often quiet, especially at two in the morning. Ziva, Abby, Ducky, Jimmy, and Gibbs sat in the waiting area for a doctor to explain Dinozzo's condition. No one spoke because they had all been here before. Some of the times it was Gibbs they waited to hear about, sometimes it was Ziva or McGee, but far too often it was Tony. Ziva stood up to leave.
"Ziva, where are you going?" asked Abby.
"I need fresh air," she said.
Ziva walked out. Abby looked at Gibbs.
"I'll talk to her," said Gibbs.
He stood up and followed after her. She had walked down the hall and to the elevator banks. He caught up with her outside as she stared up at the quarter moon and a few shining stars.
"Talk to me, Ziver," he said.
"I'm confused, Gibbs."
"How so?"
"Bodnar is dead. This is what I wanted, but I would let him get away and be free, if Tony were okay. I don't understand this," she said.
"It's called love, Ziva. You love him," said Gibbs.
Ziva looked at him with tears in her eyes and nodded in the affirmative, "Yes, I do."
"Well, once he is out of the hospital and it will up to you to keep him healthy and out of trouble," Gibbs smiled then he took her into his arms for a fatherly hug.
"Thank you, Gibbs," she said.
"Now let's get back inside," he said.
They headed back inside to the waiting room. Ziva was feeling nervous but better. Gibbs had that effect on his team, his family. They arrived at the waiting room along with the doctor.
"Are you all here for Agent DiNozzo?"
"Yes," said Ducky.
"Let me start by saying he is going to be fine," he said.
Ziva felt tears stinging her eyes. He was going to be fine.
"We removed the bullet from his shoulder and his thigh then we used a metal plate to set his femur."
"What about his breathing?" asked Ziva.
"There is no more damage to his lungs," said the doctor. "He was merely having problems breathing from the impact of bullets to his body armor. He's in post op now and expected to be in his room in three hours. You can see him then."
"Thank you, doctor."
Sorry for the delay but computer crashed and I lost everything. Yes, I didn't back things up. It took me a week to even decide to finish off this story. I was going to delete, but all that is left now is the epilogue.