If you've been reading my other stories, you already know why I have been gone for so long. I have nothing else to say but I'm sorry.
All mistakes are mine.
She can't run now. You're welcome.
Tony's blood turned cold all of a sudden. This was Adam's grand plan? Shooting Ziva in the leg so she can't run?
He knew he should have just stuck with his original plan. Pretending to get shot seemed more appealing right now, and honestly, it started to sound less stupid. He made a mental note to scrub the dude's sorry face off with his fist the next time he sees him.
There is no way in God's green earth will he ever let Adam do all the planning again.
In the end, Ziva had successfully convinced her partner to dial 911 instead of Gibbs. She'd rather be brought to a hospital by a couple of strangers than face the disappointment and worry on Gibbs' face. She could not dissuade her partner to leave her side anyway, so maybe not telling her boss about her current situation just yet wouldn't hurt.
Unbeknownst to her though, Tony called their boss regardless. He talked to him while Ziva is getting stitched up by a young doctor who looked like he just passed puberty days ago.
"Gibbs." He began, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He glanced at the direction of his partner's bed just to make sure that she wasn't listening. "I am in the hospital right now with Ziva. She got shot in the thigh, flesh wound, through and through."
Gibbs' old scar on his thigh burned slightly at his senior field agent's words. Thigh shots may not be as bad as gut shots, but the fact remains that they're still excruciating as hell. "Yeah, I know. Adam called me."
"Boss?"
"Have a problem with understanding English now, DiNozzo?"
"No, boss." Tony pursed his lip, shifting his weight from one foot to another.
"Meet me outside in five minutes, we need to talk."
"Five minutes?" Tony asked. That sent Tony's cogwheels turning. How can Gibbs possibly travel from D.C. to here that quickly? Well, unless—
Damn it. He's been here all along.
"You were working with him, too." It is settled then, Tony thought, Adam Eschel is a dead man.
"Seemed logical at the time." Gibbs deadpanned.
Tony scoffed. "Bet you don't see the logic now."
"I did not know that he was planning to shoot her, if that's what you're implying." Gibbs said.
"So you know about the assassins."
"And the threat to her aunt." Gibbs added. "Adam said that she's already being taken care of. No one will be able to harm her."
"You can't possibly believe a word he says. Eschel is as shady as a pine tree, boss." Tony shook his head, incredulous. "He got Ziva shot, for crying out loud!"
"Adam, maybe." Gibbs said. "But not Shmiel."
"Shmiel, the man of steel?" That can't be right. What does Ziva's friend has to do with any of this?
Gibbs ignores the question all together. "Adam contacted him. He said that Shmiel had already sent his best guy to protect Nettie."
Wait, back up a second. "Are we talking about the same Shmiel here? Small guy, balding white hair, kind of old-ish, older than you boss—if you can believe that—" A chuckle has already escaped Tony's throat before he could stop it. Shit. He backtracked quickly. "Not that you are old. You are aging very beautifully, boss."
"Are you done, DiNozzo?"
Tony cringed. It's a trick question. It's a trick question! "Umm, am I?"
Gibbs sighed from the other end. "Yes. That Shmiel. He's more influential than you were made to believe."
"Is every old person in Israel a government spy?" Tony wondered aloud.
"Just meet me downstairs."
Ziva immediately saw remnants of outrage on Tony's face the moment he returns to her. "What's the problem now?" She asked.
The question snapped Tony out of his headspace quickly. He shrugged. "Nothing. Why would you even think that?" He asked. "Doc gave you the all clear?"
She nodded. "Yes. Ten minutes ago. Let's go." She was already halfway down the bed when Tony stopped her.
"No, no, no. It is either you leave this room on a wheelchair, or you do not leave at all. You cannot possibly be able to put weight on that limb."
Tony didn't know at first whether to laugh or to worry when Ziva chooses to stand nonetheless.
She groaned the moment her foot touched the ground. She quickly took her weight off it. If he didn't know she got shot, he'd think the floor was on fire.
He grunted, fighting off the overwhelming urge of tossing his partner over his shoulder like a caveman. She really should be thankful that he still has enough sense of self preservation in him. "What did I just say?"
The former Mossad agent glared at him before begrudgingly muttering a soft 'fine'. She let him help her back to bed.
"Great. I'll go grab your wheelchair then we'll go straight back home. To my home." He added before she could get any ideas. "We're going back to D.C."
Tony could only hope that Gibbs' plan would actually work.
In the car, it is Ziva who speaks first. They've barely left the hospital parking lot, but then she knew that she'd better start speaking now than later. Ripping the band-aid off as quick as possible has always been her style, anyway. Her gaze remained fixed on the windshield. "Earlier, while you were busy outside, I talked to one of my contacts."
"Okay." Tony carefully answered.
"It is Adam."
Act surprised, Tony. Act surprised. He stared at her, wide eyed. For the first time in a while, he's glad that she's not looking back at him. "What?"
"I know that you do not like him."
You have no idea. "Got that right." If you knew that he's the one who shot you, then for sure she'd be sharing precisely the same sentiment.
"I really have no plans of involving you in this mess, but the assassins and this—"She gestured towards her injured thigh with a frown, "—change things. I may need your help after all."
Tony silently watched her face as she weighed what she has to say next.
"A few months ago, I received some threats. Someone is threatening my Aunt Nettie's life to get to me."
Guilt simmered inside Tony's gut. How can Gibbs expect him to do what he's about to do when Ziva's finally letting him in? Now that she's finally telling him the truth? Still, he managed to remain quiet.
"You were right to suspect, years ago, when you asked me about my Aunt's special skills. She's former Mossad. In fact, she used to be my father's superior officer. She's also the one who introduced Abba to her sister."
"Your mother." Tony said.
"Yes." Ziva nods. "I have no doubt in my mind that my aunt can protect herself. That is the exact reason why I didn't run back to Israel right after receiving the threat. She insisted that I didn't have to. She wasn't lying."
"She's that scary, huh."
"Believe it or not, Tony, there are only a few people in this world who could intimidate me, and my Aunt Nettie is easily one of them."
He released a breath of relief. "Well, I am gladder now that she just accepted my apology all those years ago without fuss."
"The flowers did help. They've always been her weakness." Ziva said with a small smile. "Tony—" She turned to look at him, hesitated for a split second, then slowly muttered, "can I trust you on this?"
"Always." Tony responded despite the tightness that he feels in his chest. He will always be on her side, no matter how this day will turn out. That's what matters. She may not understand now, but she will. In time.
"I may sound like an awful niece but right now, my Aunt Nettie is really the least of my problems." Ziva admitted. "It is Yosef Bodnar."
"Bodnar?" Tony asked. God, he badly needed this conversation to end. He's not sure how long can he keep on lying to her.
"Ilan's father." Ziva said quietly. "He has escaped prison and wants revenge for what I did to his son. He wants me to go back to Israel, and he has teamed up with a known arms dealer named Calvin Anderson to make it happen. He called me the same day I handed in my resignation to Director Vance. If I do not cooperate, in three days, he will be sending a suicide bomber right in the heart of Tel Aviv."
Fuck. Adam didn't tell him any of this. He made him believe that the threat is on Nettie's life and hers alone. He didn't mention about an entire city being at risk. "Wait, tell me you're not actually considering it."
"What choice do I have? People's lives are at stake, Tony."
His voice raised a couple of octaves. "And yours isn't?"
"Tony, please." She begged. "Hear me out. You're the only one who could help me."
"Help you what? Commit suicide? Not in a thousand years!"
"I have a plan. Adam found Bodnar." Ziva said. "And I know a way we can get to him. I have already secured our ride so that we could fly to Israel undetected."
She's lying through her teeth. He could tell. This, telling him everything, it's just an attempt to keep him off her real plan. There's no way she'd take him with her to Israel. As good as it may sound, he knows her. She wouldn't risk his life like that. "We?"
"I know you, Tony. If I cannot stop you from interfering, I might as well involve you." Ziva replied. "Together, we are getting Bodnar. We leave tomorrow morning, before sunrise."