Tim carefully inserted the card into his phone. All three had pads and pens in front of them to take notes. "I'm also going to save this on to my phone and make a back-up, Boss."

Gibbs looked surprised. He was so non-savvy as far as technology, he hadn't considered that as an option.

"OK, are we ready?" Tim asked, looking at the other two.

Vignette Nine: Hello, Goodbye- Part Two

Initially, there was about ten minutes of different conversations, as everyone reported in on their posts and Tony reported everyone was in the car and ready to go.

Tony: "What's Mrs. Vance doing, Miles?"

"This is it, Boss. Let me back it up so we get everything from the beginning. It starts after Tony says everyone's in the car." Tim re-set the player on his phone.

Tony: "All set, Boss. The ship is ready to set sail."

After about 45 seconds:

Tony: "What's Mrs. Vance doing, Miles?"

Miles: "She's going back in. She forgot her purse."

Tony: "On hold for a few minutes, the Captains First Mate decided to go back for the treasure chest."

Gibbs just now remembered that transmission. He also remembered rolling his eyes at Tony's code words. He now knew that "treasure chest" meant purse.

After about two minutes, Ziva reported in.

Ziva: "We are coming out now." Noises of movement were heard over her speaking.

Tony: "Copy that."

Mrs. Vance: "I'm sorry, Agent David."

Two gunshots were fired. The three in the conference room all jumped at that.

Running could be heard and Tony yelling something to Agent Miles in the background.

Tony: "Ziva!"

More running, sounding as if was going away in a different direction and then returning, with panting. As Tony was running, they could hear moaning and small sounds coming from Ziva.

Tony: "No!" The anguish in Tony's voice made them all wince and they looked at one another.

They heard Tony make the "911" call. They could hear soft noises that they realized was probably Tony taking off his jacket to put pressure on the chest wound.

Tony: "Ziva…" Tony said her name so sorrowfully, his voice full of emotion and tears.

Ziva: "Tony…I am sorry." Her voice was barely audible but the sorrow and anguish could be heard in her voice. The transmission then went dead.

They sat in silence for a few moments, absorbing what they just heard.

Finally, Fornell spoke. "Ziva must have been getting ready to respond to Tony, and somehow kept her thumb on the "talk" button through all of this, until…"

"Until she couldn't hold on to it anymore." Gibbs finished.

Fornell looked at his friend and colleague. "Jethro, after hearing this, I can't help but wonder: are DiNozzo and David in a relationship?"

Gibbs looked wearily at Fornell. "Tobias, I don't know and I don't care. But if you're worried about Tony's state of mind during this investigation, don't."

"His only assignment is to watch over his partner." Fornell nodded.

"So here is my question: was this whole "family in danger" a ruse for Mrs. Vance to get extracted?"

Gibbs looked up. "You think she's working with a foreign government?"

"Well, she's not working for us, or for NCIS I am sure. It's possible she's a covert CIA operative." He shrugged.

"Excuse me." Tim butted in, finally finding his voice after listening to the shocking recording."

"How could Director Vance not notice if she left the country, since that is where the CIA operates?"

"Smart question, Agent McGee. How did they meet? This could go all the way back to then."

"Maybe she was a plant to get to him, marry him, learn what she could from him about the Navy, NCIS, who knows what else."

Gibbs thought about that carefully. "I don't know his personal life well, but I know enough that he trusts his wife completely, and things can be said under the right circumstances."

"Including the wrong thing, eh, Jethro?" Tobias smiled and Gibbs glared, knowing he was referring to Diane saying Tobias' name while she and Jethro were making love. That's how he found out she was cheating on him.

"So are we thinking she's a mole working for some other agency or perhaps a terrorist cell?"

"I can tell you what Director Vance will say." Tim interrupted.

Fornell and Gibbs raised their eyebrows at him. Fornell gave him a small smile. "And you know this…how, Agent McGee?"

"Boss, remember when Vance first took over and split us all up? I worked very closely with him." Gibbs nodded. "Go on."

"He is as much as a computer geek as I am, and I am not embarrassed to admit that he probably knows more about them than I do."

He turned to Gibbs. "As much as I would have preferred working with you, it was a great experience. He taught me a lot and I think he let me in a little bit."

"So how do you think he is going to react?" Fornell asked; interested in what McGee was going to say.

"He's going to claim that there is no way she would ever do this and that there had to be another person present who pulled the trigger or made her do it against her will; perhaps by threatening the lives of her children."

"Or, he could claim that someone got to her, again by threatening her children, maybe even the Director himself, and instructed her to somehow get back into the house and get in the car that was waiting in the back."

"It could be that shooting Ziva, or even Tony if he had been the one to go back in after her, was not the plan, but a contingency in case one of them got in the way."

McGee frowned. "I don't think Mrs. Vance knew Tony and Ziva would be in the lead vehicle following her from the house until today. So I don't think Ziva or Tony were the actual targets themselves."

Gibbs and Fornell sat in silence, absorbing Tim's analysis.

"He's right. Vance will come up with every scenario in the book to prove his wife was not responsible for this." Fornell said.

"If someone else was there, first of all Ziva would have let Tony know somehow-they have all sorts for ways for giving each other information without letting the person they are talking about know it." Gibbs considered.

"That could explain why she pressed the "talk" button; to let him know they were not alone." Tobias countered.

"Then she would have had her gun at least drawn. From the recording it is clear that Ziva thought that everything was fine."

"No one got the drop on her and then ordered Mrs. Vance to shoot her. It would be on the recording."

"Tony got in there very quickly so she must have had a get-away car waiting for her in the back." Tobias turned to Gibbs. "You didn't have a team watching the back of the house?"

Gibbs looked grim. "We did; Agents Riley and Patrick. They didn't respond when I tried to reach them. I have another team assigned to check the situation."

"Who wants to hold onto to this?" Tim had the SMS card in his hand.

Gibbs held out his hand. "I'll take it. I have the perfect hiding place for it."

McGee immediately got up and left the room, leaving Gibbs and Fornell to talk privately.

"Now Jethro, do you want to call Director Vance or should I?" They stood up.

"Jethro, I really hate to ask this. Do you think that there is any possibility that the Director is in any way involved?"

"Other than him not really knowing his wife? I can't imagine it, Tobias. But before today, I wouldn't have imagined it about Jackie either."

Fornell nodded. "What are David's chances?"

Gibbs looked sadly at his friend. "I don't know Tobias, but from what Tony was able to tell us, it doesn't look good." He thought for a minute.

"I think I'm going to let Leon call the Director of Mossad and explain to him that his daughter was shot by his wife."

Fornell made a face at that. "Any way I can be there when he makes that call?"

"I sure as hell will be!" Gibbs said.

Fornell looked troubled. "You know Jethro; maybe we shouldn't tell Director David or Mossad who shot Ziva."

Gibbs stopped and turned. "I'm listening."

"Think about it Jethro: If Director David knows that his daughter was shot, and I'm really sorry to say this, possibly killed, by the wife of the Director of NCIS, think of the ramifications."

"Not only will they most likely send a Mossad assassin to take out Vance and his family for revenge, and possibly Tony since he was her partner and didn't 'cover' her, at least from their point of view; this could jeopardize any relationship the U.S. has with Israel."

Gibbs sat down hard in his chair and rubbed his face. He was stunned at what could be coming down the pike.

Ziva may not be a citizen of Israel anymore, but that wouldn't make any difference. In fact, Ziva had told him that her father did not accept her American Citizenship and dismissed her renouncement of Israel.

He looked at Fornell.

"Tobias, I already called the Israeli Embassy. I had to tell them that Ziva had been shot, it was the only way I was able to convince someone to notify Director David."

"The first thing he is going to do is call Leon, even though I told the messenger boy that he was to call me."

Fornell thought about it. "But you didn't mention Vance or Vance's wife?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Certainly not that Mrs. Vance was the one who shot Ziva. At the time, I didn't know about the recording and all I had was Tony's statement."

"I may have said she was shot while guarding Mrs. Vance. I really…don't remember."

They went back out into the lobby. It had only been an hour since Ziva was taken to surgery. They knew she could be in there for hours.

Gibbs went up to Tony. "DiNozzo, go home and take a shower. Nothing's going to happen anytime soon."

Tony shook his head. "I am not leaving until I see Ziva."

"Uh, Gibbs?" Abby asked quietly. Gibbs walked over to her and sat down beside her, taking hold of her hand. "Yeah, Abbs, what is it?"

"Has anyone called Ducky or Palmer? I would imagine anyone who heard those transmissions has spread it all over NCIS by now."

"Shit! McGee, contact every agent involved who may have heard what went on and give them the gag order. Tell them that anyone who has spread unverified evidence regarding this crime will be dealt with harshly."

Tim nodded grimly. "On it, Boss!" He went over to a corner and pulled out his list of agents that were assigned to the detail.

Gibbs pulled out his phone and dialed Palmer's cell. "Palmer, Gibbs. Is Ducky there? Yes, but first I want to tell you so you can be ready to help him if he needs it."

"Try not to react to this, Ok? Ziva's been shot and is in surgery at Maryland Trauma Center. You can let me talk to Ducky now."

Jimmy's face lost its color as Gibbs gave him the news, but quickly tried to compose himself. "Dr. Mallard? Special Agent Gibbs would like to speak with you. No, stay in your chair, I'll bring my phone to you."

Ducky was immediately suspicious. "Why would he call you first unless…" Like Jimmy, his face became pale. Taking a deep breath, he took the phone from Jimmy and spoke.

"Jethro, what has happened? Who?" This was reminding him too much of when he received the call when Jenny had been shot and killed.

Gibbs sighed. "It's Ziva, Duck. She's been shot. She's in surgery now."

"How bad is it, Jethro?"

"I don't know, Duck. I haven't talked to any of the docs."

"I see." Ducky responded. "Were you there, Jethro? Did you see Ziva after she had been shot?"

There was silence on the other end for a moment, then a rough "Yeah."

"Then I am going to ask again: how bad is it?"

"Bad, Duck. As bad as it can get. If you can get here, I think that would be a good idea."

Safe House – Winchester, VA

Director Leon Vance was pacing, anxiously awaiting the arrival of his family. He was stunned when he received the threat.

He knew he had made a lot of enemies during his career, but most of his "covert" activity had taken place overseas.

If the threat was from someone in his past, then that meant a foreign terrorist or possibly a cell was working in his own backyard, and he didn't like it one damn bit.

He was brought out of his musings from the sound of cars coming up the drive.

"Finally!" He breathed a sigh of relief. He ran outside and waited for the car that held his precious family. As the cars got closer, he became more and more anxious.

The face of the driver of the first car was grim. Something was off…something had gone wrong.

The car pulled up and stopped. His two children got out before he could get to them. "Daddy!" They were crying and shaking. The Agents in the backup car walked up.

Vance looked at them and saw the looks on their faces. He leaned down and spoke softly to his children and kissed them both. He straightened up, back in Director Mode.

"Agents Whitney, Garrison! Please take my children inside while I have a few words with Agent Miles."

Vance thought he felt an icy glare from his Agents as they guided his children past him. He shrugged it off, and looked at Agent Miles, who was out of the car and standing face to face with the Director.

Agent Miles didn't hear the transmissions, he only heard the shots. At the time, he had come to two conclusions: One: that someone had been inside waiting for Mrs. Vance and shot Mrs. Vance, Agent David or both; or Two: he didn't want to think about option two.

And he didn't want to have to be the one to tell the Director of NCIS why his wife was not in his car.

"Where…is…my…wife?" Vance leaned in so that his face was almost touching Miles'.

Agent Miles swallowed hard. "I don't know, Sir."

Vance looked stunned. "Are you telling me my wife is…?"

"She was in the car and we were ready to leave. She then went back into the house to get her purse. Agent David followed her back in."

"After a few minutes, I heard gunshots and Agent DiNozzo flew by me and ordered me to leave with the kids. I did as ordered, Sir. That's all I know."

Agent Miles was telling only part of the truth. Since the children were in the car, he did not turn on his walkie as they would also hear what he would have been hearing.

But he got a phone call telling him David had been shot and Mrs. Vance was nowhere to be found. Agent Miles decided it wasn't his place to share this news with the Director.

He did feel bad, though, thinking of what must be going through Director Vance's mind: "Where's my wife? Is she dead? Was she taken?"

"Thank you, Agent Miles. You followed orders and got my children here safely. Well done." He dismissed him.

Vance was pissed. If something went down at his house, why was he hearing about it from some Agent and not Gibbs?"

He pulled out his phone to call him, but an incoming call beat him to it. He frowned. The name on the screen was "Agent Fornell."

He looked at the phone briefly and recovered himself. "Director Vance." He answered curtly.

"Director, are you at the Safe House? Did your children arrive safely?"

Vance's mouth tightened. "You didn't ask about my wife, Agent Fornell. And why in the hell is the FBI calling me instead of my own Special Agents?"

"Agent Gibbs has his hands full right now, and he called me in. I didn't ask about your wife, because I know she was not in the car. But I am not going to continue this conversation over the phone."

"Director Vance, you will kindly meet me at NCIS, where Agent Gibbs and I will explain to you what has transpired. I have already asked Agent Miles to drive you back to DC."

Vance's head whipped around and looked at Miles, who looked worried, but gave away nothing else.

"I don't think I like your tone, Agent Fornell." Vance spat.

Fornell didn't take the bait. "I just want to make sure you get here, Director Vance." He replied. "Safely."

"Very well, then. I will expect a full report when I arrive."

Fornell smiled grimly. "You'll get one, Director. You can count on that." He hung up.

Vance blinked a few times. He didn't like what he just heard, and he had a gnawing fear in his stomach. He went inside to talk to his children.

They ran to him immediately. "Dad! Someone shot a gun! Where's Mom?"

Vance cursed under his breath. "I don't want either of you to worry. I am sure that your Mother's fine."

"I'm going back to DC now to find out about all of this. I will call you soon." He kissed both of them again. He then walked back outside.

"Agent Miles?" Miles walked over to the car and got in the driver's seat. Vance got in the back. As far as he was concerned, he was being chauffeured back to NCIS.

Maryland Shock Trauma

Fornell ended his call. He looked at Gibbs. "Well, that was fun."

Gibbs gave Fornell one of his looks. "How did he take it?"

Fornell looked up like he was thinking. "He wasn't pleased. But he knows it has to do with his wife, he just doesn't know what."

"If he thinks she's dead, then I feel sorry for the Bastard."

Gibbs nodded. "He would have asked for a report from Miles, considering his wife was not in the car."

"All Miles would be able to tell him was that she went back into the house, he heard gunshots and DiNozzo told him to get the hell out of Dodge."

Gibbs frowned. "I certainly hope he wasn't stupid enough to keep his walkie on; then the kids would have heard the whole exchange."

Fornell shook his head. "Then he would have known Agent David had been shot and his wife was missing. He didn't say anything to that effect."

Just then, McGee came back to speak with them. "Boss, I've reached all of the agents involved and gave them your message. I also have some more bad news."

Gibbs and Fornell pulled Tim over into a corner where they could speak without the other's hearing.

"Dorneget and Smith couldn't find Agents Riley, Patrick or their car. They did find, however, some blood splatter where they should have been stationed."

"Shit!" Gibbs exclaimed under his breath. "Now we have two missing Agents as well."

"Or, and I really hate to say this Jethro." Fornell spoke softly. "One of those Agents was in on this, shot the other Agent and drove off with Mrs. Vance."

Gibbs looked at his team. It was bad enough that Mrs. Vance was involved, but possibly another one of their own?

Just when he thought the news couldn't get any worse, his phone rang. He looked at the readout:

"Director Eli David."

Thanks for the great reviews. Procedurals are not my forte', so I will be hard pressed to keep up that part of the Vignette. I am military and police stupid, so what I write will be based solely on how I've seen it done on the show.