"Even if it is proven that DOD is using this as a cover up for their own operations, your team has still made some questionable decisions. Someone may have to go. Maybe not go as in 'fired', but maybe off your team."

Gibbs didn't like the sound of that at all. "If someone leaves my team, it should be me. I stand by what I said to Parsons: I take full responsibility for their actions. I won't let anything happen to them."

"And will any of them let something happen to you?" AJ asked.

Gibbs didn't want to think of that, that one of them would sacrifice themselves for his honor. And deep down, he knew who would most likely be willing to do that…Ziva.

Vignette Eleven: Part Twenty-Five

Tony stood up when the Director's door opened. Gibbs looked at his Senior Field Agent. "What to do you need, DiNozzo?"

Tony frowned slightly. "Just checking to see how things are going, and fill you in are what we are doing."

"Don't." A.J. spoke up. "The less Gibbs knows the better. However, please feel free to fill me in on any details that you deem pertinent to this investigation."

Tony glanced at Gibbs, who cocked his head indicating he should go with the lawyer. Tony felt uneasy, but led the elder man down the hall to one of the conference rooms.

Tony closed the door behind him and waited for the lawyer to sit. "Please tell me you are going to get him out of this." He burst out.

A.J. cocked an eyebrow. "That remains to be seen. A lot will depend on what DOD throws at us. Do you have any details to add or are you just worried?"

Tony smiled without humor. "I'm in charge of the team while Gibbs is out, so it is in all of our best interest to make sure Gibbs is cleared of all charges. But you're right: we can't fight Parsons unless we know what he knows. We're copying all of our case reports so we can review them, look for something that might stand out. Parsons wasn't there; he doesn't know how these cases went down."

A.J. nodded. "I think it's a good idea to get your files before they get it in their mind to take them from you. What else?"

Tony paced. "Well, Ducky and Abby are doing the same with their records. We're hoping to counteract the charges by showing how much good Gibbs has done."

A.J. smiled sympathetically. "I'm afraid a Fed like Richard Parsons isn't that concerned with the outcome. It's the journey that holds his interest. How did you get to the end result? Did you break any laws getting there? That's what this is about. I wouldn't waste your time following that course."

Tony sat down, frustrated. "There is something else."

A.J. looked interested. "Continue, please."

"Bodnar. He told Ziva that he wasn't responsible for the death of Arash Kazmi. Now he never told Ziva who was, or who he thought was responsible. But Homeland and CIA both seemed a bit too eager to get their hands on Bodnar. Or rather, for us to keep our hands off of him."

A.J. drummed his fingers. This was what Gibbs and Vance had said. "You think someone from DOD may have been involved?"

Tony shrugged. "It's possible. Look, why are they coming after Gibbs after all these years? What is so important right now that he needs to be scrutinized? The only thing I can think of is Bodnar. And by extension, Kazmi. I think they are using Gibbs as a cover to hide their own illegal methods, by assassinating a Foreign Minister on U.S. soil. If it was a CIA job, then they really overstepped their boundaries. Or…"

Tony frowned. "It was a rogue in one of their ranks, and they don't know who it is. They wanted Bodnar, so he could tell them." Tony's eyes went wide. "Son of a Bitch!"

A.J. smiled as he listened to Tony come to the same conclusion he had. "Agent DiNozzo, I want you to listen to me. I want you to find out what you can about the Kazmi assassination, without calling attention to yourself or letting Gibbs know. You can keep Vance in the loop. I'm in agreement with your assessment that there is definitely more to this than meets the eye, and you may have just hit the center mark." He stood up.

"Vance and I need to go now and meet with Parsons. I'll keep in touch." They shook hands and the lawyer took his leave. Tony headed back down to the bullpen but was disappointed that Gibbs was not there.

"Did Gibbs stop by?" He asked Ziva.

She shook her head sadly. "We saw him on the balcony but he kept going. I am guessing he does not want to involve us." She sighed and looked down.

Tony motioned for McGee to join them. "I just spoke to A.J., the attorney that is taking Gibbs' case. He thinks there is something more going on as well, like someone is hiding something and using this to draw attention away."

McGee looked pissed. "You mean like Kazmi."

"Exactly. I've been asked to snoop around, but not get caught. We can't tell Gibbs anything that we are doing. Plausible deniability I guess. But Vance is to be kept in the loop."

"Where is Gibbs going now?" Ziva asked.

Tony looked at her, seeing the shadows under her eyes. "I'm not sure. AJ and Vance are heading over to DOD to speak with Parsons."

Richard Parson's office-Department of Defense

If there was one thing that could be said about the Federal Government, it was that they didn't go out of their way to make their offices comfortable. The office where DOD Investigator Richard Parsons was housed was something out of the seventies with dark wood, library standard chairs and dull paint. His office was surprisingly small for someone who was supposed to be on the fast track.

"Come in." He answered tersely, glancing up at his visitors. He smiled knowingly as he took in his guests.

"I see you're bringing in the big guns." He looked smug and amused. Director Vance, Homeland Security Senior Chief Tom Morrow and Attorney A.J. Chegwhidden all stared back at him, decidedly not amused.

"What's this about, Parsons?" Tom began. "You can't seriously be thinking of going after Gibbs."

Parsons was writing notes, ignoring their presence. He looked up and smiled without humor. "Why would you think I'm not serious, Tom?" He asked, his voice dripping with honey-laced venom. "I can assure you that I am quite serious." He looked down at his paperwork.

"In fact, I have enough evidence right now to indict Gibbs!" He threw away all pretense of cooperation.

"It is time to stop the vigilante actions of our government employees. What we have here is anarchy. If you can't control your people, Director, then I will." Parsons looked at Vance.

"What is this really about?" A.J. asked quietly.

Parsons looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel. "What is this really about? It's about a Former Gunnery Sergeant who thinks he doesn't have to follow the rules. About a leader of a group of investigative Agents who encourages this same behavior in his team. A team that thinks their actions does not require supervision or question."

A.J. shook his head, further infuriating Parsons. "You really don't know, do you?" He asked, his voice displaying pity. Parsons looked confused.

"Who handed you this investigation?" Vance asked.

Parsons whipped his head to look at him. "Excuse me?"

"This assignment, to go after Gibbs and his team. This wasn't a simple follow-up to the Bodnar case. This was a specific target. I want to know who ordered it and why." Vance spat.

Parsons eyed the three men. "You're fishing. You have no case and you know it. Trying to turn the tables on me, make me look like the bad guy? Not gonna' happen. Want to know why? Because I am smarter than you are."

"You're also an arrogant prick." Vance shouted. "We know this is about Kazmi. We know someone is covering up his assassination and they are using my Agents as their scapegoats. Well, I won't allow it. We will beat you, and you will be sorry you ever heard of the name Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

"Are you threatening me?" Parsons demanded. His mind was in overdrive. "Kazmi? The Iranian Diplomat? What in the Hell were they talking about?" Not wanting to reveal his inner turmoil, he just pointed to his door.

"You can see yourself out, Gentlemen."

Gibbs Home- North Alexandria

Gibbs sat in his truck for a few moments as he pulled into his driveway. He couldn't believe this was happening, not now anyway. He may have expected something like this years ago, but he thought the time had passed, that no one would look his way again. Sighing heavily, he got out of his truck and heading for his front door.

Frowning, he noted the door was ajar. Removing his weapon, he slowly and carefully entered his own premises.

What he found inside was so shocking he couldn't breathe: his home had been ransacked. The furniture was overturned, the TV on the floor busted up. His books had been thrown about. He stooped down to pick up the lone framed photo he had of him, Shannon and Kelly.

He rubbed his hand over the glass where it was broken, trying to keep back the tears. Making a decision, he pulled out his phone and called A.J. He then called Tony and told him what had happened and for them to get over here and work the scene.

Tony, Ziva and McGee arrived less than twenty minutes later. They were just as stunned by the destruction of Gibbs' home. Tony stood beside him.

"Could they have been looking for something, Boss?" He asked tentatively.

"Well, yeah DiNozzo. I'm sure that was the idea. But I don't know what they expected to find." Gibbs looked around in defeat.

A.J. was furious by what he saw. "Gibbs, did you have any files here? Any old cases that maybe you think would be nothing, but someone else may have an interest in?"

Gibbs considered the question. Then he remembered the box that Mike Franks had given him two years ago. He had referred to it at the time as "his insurance policy".

That box had revealed the members of the Phantom Eight and "Operation Frankenstein". Gibbs had gone through the box and reviewed the contents to see what tidbits Franks had left him. But for the life of him, he couldn't think of anything he read that was alarming or worth…this. He realized he should have had another set of eyes look at the documents and recognized he had made a tactical error in dismissing the contents as important.

He rushed downstairs to his basement and opened up the chest he had covered with an old blanket. Just as he feared, the box was gone. "Dammit!" He exclaimed.

"Uh, Boss? What's all this?" Gibbs looked up to see Tony looking quizzically at a wooden carving of some initials. Tony looked back at Gibbs, holding out the oval-shaped object.

"It's nothing, DiNozzo. I'll take that." Gibbs held out his hand impatiently. DiNozzo took his hand back and studied the design again.

"T-D-Z?" He asked, unsure if he was seeing it clearly.

Gibbs sighed and walked over to the bench to pour a stiff drink. "T-D-Z. For you and Ziva. Once I realized you two were together, I figured you may need some things in the future."

"Some things? Like what?" Tony was confused. "Why would we need a block of wood with our initials on it?"

Gibbs cocked his head and rolled his eyes. He got up and walked over to a large object in the corner that was covered in a sheet. Unceremoniously, he pulled it off.

Tony's eyes bulged out when he realized what he was looking at. "Boss, you thought…?"

"Well, yeah, Tony. Someday. You're getting married aren't you?" Gibbs shook his head at his Senior Agents shocked expression, and then stopped smiling when he saw the change in Tony's features.

"Tony, you need to talk to Ziva about what happened in Israel. Don't let this come between you." Gibbs looked worried.

"Other things are more important right now." Tony answered repressively.

"DiNozzo, put yourself in her shoes. What if it had been your father and you were in Europe dealing with the aftermath and you were overwhelmed with grief and alone and just needed some comfort. What would you have done?"

"I would have called Ziva." Tony answered quietly.

Gibbs stared at him and then laughed ruefully. "That's bullshit, DiNozzo and you know it. You would have headed to the nearest bar and picked up the prettiest woman you could find. And then the next night you would have done it again. Don't go judging Ziva, unless you can be honest with yourself. Was she wrong? Absolutely, if only from the standpoint of the legal ramifications she's dealing with right now. But unless you've been lying to me, you two were not a couple at that time, so you had no claim on her. Oh, you may have wanted one, but wishing doesn't make it so."

Gibbs rubbed his face. "Don't let the best thing that has ever happened to you slip away because of a foolish sense of manly pride. Tell you what. When this is all over with, you and I are going to Tel Aviv and beat the shit out of Adam Eshel."

For the first time in days, Tony laughed out loud. Gibbs couldn't help it and soon he was laughing with him. They were so loud, that Ziva came down the stairs in alarm.

She stared at them, irritated. "From the noise down here, I thought someone was dying. What is this? What is there to laugh about, please explain this to me?"

Gibbs and Tony looked at Ziva, and then burst into laughter again. Ziva tapped her foot impatiently. Suddenly, she saw the piece of furniture behind Gibbs.

"What…what is that, Gibbs?" She looked at him, her eyes large and round. She then looked at Tony, who had stopped laughing and was now looking quite wistful.

"What does it look like, Ziver? It's a crib. I figured I better get started, once you too get married it will only be a matter of time before you need one."

Ziva felt her face get hot, and she looked everywhere but at Tony. "A crib? What was Gibbs thinking?" When she finally looked at Tony, he was staring at her intently, a look she couldn't fathom on his face.

"Well, we do not need it at the moment, so can we please focus on the matter at hand?" Ziva wasn't sure what was really going on, but she realized that Gibbs and Tony had clearly shared something and it had to do with her. Normally, she didn't like to be discussed by others, but she felt oddly comforted. She didn't know what they had said, but she knew it was all good.

They headed back upstairs. A.J. turned to Gibbs. "You and I are going to pay Mr. Parsons another visit. I want to know if this is his handiwork." Gibbs nodded to his team and left with the lawyer.

Courtroom A: Federal Court House, Washington

Richard Parsons strolled down the hall, briefcase in hand. He had a hearing in ten minutes and he liked to be early, if only to fluster the defendant and their counsel. Playing mind games was a strength of his, and he prided himself on his ability to out-psych his opponent.

He was brought up short when he saw Chegwhidden and Gibbs waiting for him outside the doors to the courtroom.

"Sorry, your hearing hasn't been scheduled yet." He said acerbically.

"There won't be a hearing when I'm done with you." A.J. barked. "What in the Hell kind of games are you playing here? You want to talk obstruction of justice? How about evidence tampering, illegal entry and destruction of personal property?"

Parsons had started to open his mouth to cut A.J. off, but his rant stopped him. He looked at Gibbs, and then back at the attorney. "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I am talking about. Ordering Gibbs' home to be ransacked, performing an illegal search for incriminating evidence. You have violated the rights of my client!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! First of all, I never ordered such a search and seizure. Second of all, I would never stoop to those kinds of practices!" Parsons was breathing heavily. He turned to Gibbs.

"Are you saying this happened? That someone entered your home and searched it?"

"Destroyed is more like it." Gibbs answered quietly, knowing he needed to say as little as possible, to let A.J. take the lead on this, as angry as he was.

A.J. scrutinized Parsons' face. "You really didn't know about this, did you?"

Parsons was livid. "No I didn't."

A.J. squared his shoulders. "Well then, perhaps you need to watch your back as well. I told you someone else was pulling the strings here. Do you believe me now?"

A.J. motioned for Gibbs to leave with him, as Parsons watched them leave in shock.

"Do you have a place to stay, that no one knows about?" A.J. asked Gibbs.

Gibbs nodded. "I have an old cabin in Shenandoah. Use it when I go fishing or hunting. Not much to look at or speak of."

"It'll do." A.J. responded. "Let's get you packed up and head out. The sooner we get you out of sight the better."

Gibbs frowned. "You thinking someone may be after me, as well as whatever information I may have?"

"It's a possibility I am willing to consider and take precautions against." A.J. answered solemnly. "No one knows where you are going, not even your team."

"Well, one or two of them might make a wild guess. DiNozzo's been there; so has Ducky."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Let's go."

NCIS

Ziva was frustrated. Even though she still had computer access, her security clearance level had been reduced to the point that she may as well not have one.

"This is ridiculous! I cannot do my job!" She banged her hands on her desk.

"I think that's the point, Ziva." Tony answered absently, intent on his own screen.

She frowned at him, not likely his comment. She watched McGee type furiously, his fingers flying over his keyboard.

"Here, Ziva." McGee piped up. "I'm sending you security footage from our building when Kazmi was here. You can review the tapes to see if you see anything suspicious."

Ziva felt like McGee was throwing her a bone. She did not want to review security footage brought up by someone else; she wanted to perform her own search! But she knew she didn't have much choice at the moment.

"Thank you, McGee." She said quietly, quickly pulling up the video.

They worked in silence for two hours, taking stretch and coffee breaks. Tony leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. "I got nothing, you guys. Anything?"

McGee was looking at three different monitors, but he didn't look any closer to finding anything. Ziva looked bored and felt useless. The quality of the video left a lot to be desired and much of what she was looking at was at night.

Suddenly, she frowned; and backed up the video. Tony caught her change in expression and got up out of his chair.

"You got something, Ziva?" He asked. McGee looked up.

"I am not sure. I thought I saw something or someone in the shadows outside our building that looked familiar."

Tony threw his hands up in the air. "Well, that's not a surprise, since we know practically everyone who works here!" He started to head back to his desk.

Ziva's intake of breath stopped him. "Not this person." She said. Her eyes scared Tony. She knew who this was and whoever it was, they were not supposed to be there.

"Ziva?" He asked hesitantly. She put the image up of the plasma.

The three team members stood in front of the screen. "It's not a good image." Tony complained. Ziva turned to him, and then took the remote. Pressing a button, she closed in on the dark figure and enlarged it.

"Is that…?" McGee looked shocked. His whipped toward Ziva, who was looking very upset.

Tony rubbed his face. "You have got to be kidding me!"

They all stared at the unmistakable image of Malachi Ben-Gidon, standing in the shadows outside the Navy Yard complex, talking on his cell phone.

"Hey McGee, any way we can find out who he was talking to? Can we go that far back?"

McGee immediately sat at his desk and typed in some parameters. "Not easily, but I think between me and Abby, we can call in some favors."

"Do it." Tony said. He turned and looked at Ziva. "We need to talk." He said, his voice short and clipped.

Ziva's eyes betrayed her emotions over this new revelation. Sighing, she followed Tony into the elevator. She expected him to flip the switch, but he allowed the elevator to continue its descent. She was surprised that he chose to take them outside, into the quadrangle.

It wasn't crowded and the weather was pleasant. If it wasn't for the reason they were there, Ziva would have actually enjoyed the moment.

"More questions for me, Tony? This time about Malachi? You already know the truth about that." Tony felt like cold water had been thrown in his face, being reminded of Adam. Knowing Ziva and Malachi had slept together when they were partnered in Mossad did not improve his feelings on the matter, but at least that was before she knew him.

"No, but thanks for reminding me of your moment of weakness." He shot back, sharper than he intended. When he saw the clouded look on Ziva's face, he felt instantly contrite.

"Come here, sit with me." He softened his tone and sat on a stone bench, away from the walkways. Ziva stood hesitantly, until Tony added "Please?"

Sighing, she sat next to him, absently rubbing her left hand with her right, trying to absorb what she just saw.

"What do you think about this?" Tony asked.

Ziva looked at him, tears threatening. "I do not know what to think, Tony. I had trusted Malachi, we both trusted him in Berlin. Why was he here when my father was? He was not part of a security detail, so he was not here at the bequest of my father."

Tony considered that. "Could Mossad have sent their own security detail, knowing Eli was coming here but not why?"

Ziva shook her head. "You are thinking they did not know about his meeting with Kazmi, and when they saw he was here, they assumed he would threaten Eli. When my father was killed, Mossad killed him in retaliation?"

Tony nodded. "Something like that."

"I do not think so, Tony. Ilan knew what my father was doing. If he knew, then someone else in power had to know as well. I would be more inclined to think he was killed because it was convenient due to the circumstances. Having said that, I do not believe that Mossad was behind Kazmi's death."

Tony sighed, disappointed. "Are you sure?" He said. He was hoping they had just broken the case.

Ziva looked into his eyes, begging him to believe her. "One hundred percent? No, I am not. But I highly doubt it. Could someone from Mossad have killed Kazmi? Absolutely. I am only saying I do not believe it was a Mossad hit."

Tony searched her face, looking for doubt or worse: deception. He saw none. "Ok." He said, taking her hand in his. That one gesture almost caused Ziva to lose it. She squeezed his hand back.

"I am concerned about Malachi, Tony." She began hesitantly.

He looked back at her, giving her is full attention. "Monique had told us that she thought Adam was CIA, which he denied. Malachi even mentioned CIA having a mole inside Ilan's operation. Could they both have been lying to us? Or telling us enough of the truth that we would not question it?"

Tony had flinched slightly at Adam's name, and he berated himself for his knee-jerk reaction.

"Are you saying that you think one of them may in fact have or are working with the CIA? That the CIA might be involved in Kazmi's death?"

"Ilan said he was not responsible, that things were not as they seemed. I can think of no other conclusion." Ziva looked down, knowing she had just condemned Adam, Malachi or both.

"Ziva." Tony tender voice broke through her thoughts. "I know they are your friends, but do you really think either of them could have done this?"

Ziva smiled sadly at Tony's attempt to call Adam her friend, knowing he was healing and moving forward. That alone was worth the terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"I am not aware that Adam has ever been here, but then I wouldn't have believed that Malachi was here in January." She shrugged helplessly.

Tony rubbed her back absently, automatically soothing her when she was upset. She laid her head against his shoulder. "Tony, I am so sorry for everything that has happened. I wish I could go back and change everything"

"Everything?" He asked, stroking her hair. She smiled softly.

"Almost everything." She looked at him. "I would never change falling in love with you, having you in my life."

He bent his head to kiss her, not caring that they were in a public place. "I love you, Ziva. I'm not happy about what happened between you and Adam, but I'll get over it. You are too important to me to lose over a bruised ego."

His phone rang, interrupting their reverie. "Yeah, DiNozzo."

"Tony, you and Ziva need to get up here, now." McGee said, his voice betraying his anxiety.

"We'll be right there."

That's all for now. The Final Chapter will be posted Monday night. Thanks for the great support for this series.