The rest of the journey towards Kabul seemed endless even though the flight was shorter this time around. Seven more hours in a plane, even one as comfortable as this, when so much else was going on was making everyone anxious.
"Our flight will land in about 45 minutes." Julia surprised them all by walking back to speak with them. She hadn't said a single word to them since telling them to stay on the plane in London when she'd stepped out to speak with Henry. "There are duffle bags in the back for each of you with the appropriate clothing in your sizes. You should all be changed by the time we land. Our gear will be waiting at the airport. From there we will take a smaller military aircraft to Zaranj and wait there until nightfall. We should enter into Iran around 22:00 hours and move towards the target."
Her military commander type tone was dually noted and the group all nodded swiftly in response when she'd finished.
"It's going to be hot out there. Current ground temperatures are 120 F degrees and less then pleasant." She added with a deep sigh, "Everyone is to follow my lead at all times. You'll be doing the engaging, and I will run interference when needed. When the situation calls for it, I will speak directly to your minds and I need you to answer me back without speaking or indicating we are communicating at all, understood?" She waited for them all to nod in agreement and then spoke to them all together in their minds, 'We are now speaking without being heard. Everyone answer that 'aye' one at a time, starting to my left and moving right. Ziva, go."
Julia instructed and startled them all at hearing her voice again so clearly in their heads as if she were speaking verbally to them out loud.
Ziva answered 'aye' in her head and everyone else was stunned to hear her voice as well and then followed suit with each answering and all hearing each other's voices. Julia was demonstrating the link she was creating and getting them over the initial shock of such thing now, not when they were in the middle of the mission.
"Okay good," Julia returned to speaking verbally out loud again with a soft head nod, "One of my abilities is to see the near future. This of course changes like a butterfly effect when the actions of one changes and the outcome shifts. Currently, what I see lends me to inform you that you, Agent DiNozzo, absolutely need to keep quiet when I tell you or you'll have a rather nasty experience with a dagger in your gut when we arrive in Zaranj." She looked right at Tony and saw his eyes widen and everyone else's, "And no, I won't be the one stabbing you." She clarified hearing his thoughts and concerns. "If anything should happen to me, use the phones in each of your bags to call Katherine and no others. She will instruct you on what to do. You do this immediately before moving me or transporting me of any kind. Is that understood?" Her tone was serious and had all of their attention.
"Yes," they all answered quietly with great wonder as to why.
"Please, use the rooms in the back or front to change. I will go last." Julia nodded at them and then turned away again.
Tony and Ziva moved first towards the large restroom at the back of the plane, finding the duffles with their names already on them and moving to change. Tony's mind was continuously going over what Julia had said about being able to see the near future and a potential dagger to his gut and he could tell from the way Ziva was looking at him, she too was thinking of the same thing.
"You need to listen to her at all times, Tony. Please?" Ziva finally spoke pulling the body armor on over her head to hide beneath her clothing. She had to smile slightly seeing that her's now included a flap that also covered her lower abdomen protecting the baby even further. Julia's warning to Tony to keep quiet had her on edge with nerves after nearly losing him already once in the last month.
"I don't intend to challenge her, Ziva." Tony huffed softly unfolding the shirt with more force then necessary to pull over his head. He was flustered with the looming unknown. "I'm not purposefully trying to piss her off!"
"I know." Ziva put her hand on his bare arm with understanding eyes. She knew that Tony rambled and said ridiculous things when he was nervous without thinking of the consequence. Something that only seemed to get worse after being in a coma for so long. "Just please…for me, try to just stay quiet. I can't handle something else happening to you." She moved the hand on his arm to his cheek, "We promised we weren't going to end up like the Cohen's, right?" She reminded him of their conversation on the plane to Israel.
"Yes, we did. But that was before I knew you were pregnant. You should not be going along on this trip anymore. The only reason I haven't said anything to you about that, is because I know it's futile to bring it up and argue with you. But it doesn't mean that I don't worry constantly right now about your safety." Tony's voice was tinged with worry and slight anger, as the danger grew more near. "So I'm going to do my best not to piss The Phoenix off any further, hope she really can keep you shielded from harm, as she says she can and pray we get in and out with Liat in record time before anything else happens."
Ziva was stunned and slightly taken back to hear Tony's real thoughts finally emerging about her on this mission now knowing she was pregnant. She understood his concerns, and she'd had them as well, but there was also no way she could sit out and not be part of the solution to a situation that was created entirely because of Bodnar's want of her. Tony had already been shot and Liat taken, she couldn't risk anyone else being harmed in trying to shield her from this danger because she wouldn't face Illan herself.
"It will be okay, Tony." Ziva stopped his movements from dressing in their desert fatigues and made him look at her. "It will be okay." She looked into his eyes. "We have not made it this far, given these kinds of miracles." She looked to his mostly healed wounds and her own, "To die now. Okay?"
Tony took a deep breath calming himself and looking into her eyes. He nodded softly and leaned forward, kissing her lips and thankful she was at least able to remain calm and reasonable when he was not. "I can't lose you, Ziva. Not ever again." He added softly thinking about what life was like without her and having the point brought painfully home once more in watching the exchange between Julia and Henry. "We have a chance to be together forever, and I'm not taking that for granted."
"I'm not either." Ziva placed her hand over the one on his face. "We will get through this."
Ziva watched Julia carefully in the front of the plane while everyone else took turns getting into their gear; desert camo and boots to blend in with the US troops already on the ground. Calling extra attention to themselves by sticking out any more then they already were going to was not something they needed. Soon, Julia disappeared into the room to change as well and when she came back out, dressed like the rest of them, Ziva took the opportunity to speak with her.
"Hi." Ziva smiled softly sliding into the seat beside Julia who was already buckling for their descent into Kabul. "Sorry to bother you."
"Is there something you need, Ziva?" Julia asked while pulling her hair back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck.
"No," Ziva shook her head softly and buckled the seatbelt across her lap, having no intentions of returning to her seat anytime soon and they were landing. "I just…never got the chance to properly thank you, for what you did for me. And Tony…the baby." She wasn't sure exactly what to say but this was as good as any segue into a conversation with Julia as she could think. "Thank you, Julia. Thank you." She tried to look the woman in the eyes and let her see she was so truly thankful. "It seems so lacking those two words considering what you have done…what you are doing for us now." She shook her head thinking of Liat and taking this woman away from her family and putting her into harms way. "For lack of better words, Thank you."
Julia took a deep breath looking at Ziva and some of the tension seemed to leave her features and posture. "You are welcome, Ziva. I understand what it's like to fear for the safety of your unborn child. The anxiety and fear are unbearable. I was happy to help."
Ziva's mind instantly flashed to hearing Vance speak of Julia being pregnant when she and Henry had originally been caught breaking the rules by being together. She could only imagine this was what Julia was speaking of now. The fact that this child she was carrying then, had never been spoken of or seen at the ranch brought immediate sadness to Ziva's heart and she tried to blink back the tears.
"His name was Julian." Julia spoke quietly and Ziva knew the woman had been inside her head, hearing her thoughts and wonderings. "He was beautiful." She added in a near whisper and flipped her aviator glasses down once more as they felt the wheels coming down preparing to land.
"What happened to him?" Ziva dared asking quietly the question already in her head she knew Julia could hear.
"They killed him before my eyes." Julia answered in barely above a whisper again, swallowing hard and taking a moment to steal herself before answering in a much more edgy tone, "And I became The Phoenix."
Ziva didn't dare ask how. She didn't want to know. The thought of having her child killed before her eyes was already enough to bring tears to her eyes and couldn't imagine what had actually transpired to evolve Julia's genetics in order to produce The Phoenix.
"Tony didn't mean to upset you." Ziva finally spoke again, wanting to apologize on his behalf, try to explain his nervous ramblings.
"I know." Julia answered her quietly, "He reacts with nervous chatter and jokes as a way of coping with stress." She sighed looking out the window as the ground came closer and closer, revealing she really did understand Tony. "His questions and statements only reminded me that I will never be seen as human."
"Julia-" Ziva began trying to explain and immediately feeling horrible.
Julia raised her hand to stop Ziva from speaking any further. "I understand, Ziva. No need to explain. As surprising as it is to you to see me with this supernatural abilities, it is still surprising to me…that people do not see me as human first." She took a deep breath and sighed, "And after what you see of me in the coming days, you will likely never look at me the same way again. They are my gifts…but also my curse." She added quietly thinking of all the things her gifts had given and taken from her life. "I can heal everyone else's wounds in life, but my own."
Ziva knew she wasn't speaking of physical wounds. She was speaking of the emotional ones. She was speaking of Henry.
"Are you forbidden still? From having contact with Henry?" Ziva asked quietly wondering about the physical distance Julia was adamant about keeping on the tarmac between the two with his guards surrounding them.
"No," Julia shook her head softly answering quietly, "We are allowed contact and speak regularly about the children. Maintaining visits and social calendars during the season. But we are forbidden to even touch now or be closer then four feet apart at all times when inside his kingdom," she said the word as though it were bitter in her mouth, "Except when dancing at formal balls in rooms filled with people."
In other words, they weren't allowed to touch or be close to each other unless there were many witnesses to the approved form of contact.
"If we break that rule we will be forbidden from having any contact at all inside his realm." Julia added softly though she was clearly not pleased with it. "And we are never allowed to be left alone at any time or place ever again."
"Why?" Ziva asked quietly finding it all so heartbreaking and understanding the exchange outside the plane that much more now. Henry's attempts to close the distance and Julia's maintaining of the boundary.
"The distance inside the kingdom is to keep up his appearances should he and I ever be photographed together." Julia sighed softly, "And the, never being allowed to be left alone together…is to ensure that Jillian never happens again." She added so quietly Ziva almost didn't hear her.
Ziva felt a sudden stop in her heart beat and then drop in her stomach. Her mouth went dry instantly trying to process what Julia had just said about her newborn baby girl. One of the twins and suggesting that she was also Henry's. Before she could ask or respond, Julia had already heard her thoughts.
"They are natural Fraternal Twins. Rafe is Jack's. And Jillian is Henry's." Julia answered turning her head to look at Ziva's wide-eyes. "I was with Jack…and then Henry, days apart." She paused shaking her head softly, "I know it sounds terrible. It is terrible, save for my beautiful children. It was never planned or intentional, it just happened."
"How?" Ziva croaked out in a whisper with her mind rapid firing with this information. She remembered Julia's comments about being extremely fertile due to the tampering for the Genetics Program to get her body to produce multiple eggs at one time, so that part, she understood. Her question was, how did it come to be that she would end up in such a position with Henry for it to happen?
"We were alone." Julia answered, visibly swallowing hard and clearly holding back a great deal of emotion that caused her voice to quiver, "And he remembered."
There was no time for further explanation or comments as the wheels touched down and jolted them slightly from the feeling of time-standing still.
When the door was opened, the immediate sweltering heat of summer blasted them. Julia reached for the backpack in front of her and stood quickly, "Let's go." She was clearly back in mission mode.
Ziva stumbled along behind her, still trying to mask the surprise and shock on her face, knowing Tony would see something in her own eyes that 'never shut up' she took a page from Julia's book and lowered her own sunglasses to hide her thoughts. She could see him already anxiously looking at her after seeing her move to the front of the plane to speak with Julia.
They filed out of the airplane and across the sweltering tarmac into a hangar with several Army personnel and crates of gear already waiting for them.
"Jules," Another tall dark and handsome man greeted Julia with a smile and two kisses to her cheeks, "Always good to see you." Given how he was dressed, they were certain he wasn't part of the Army but more of a clandestine nature.
"Benji," Julia smiled at him, "Always a pleasure. Thank you for being able to arrange this so quickly." She looked over the crates of gear and the others stood to the side quietly fascinated by any interaction with Julia and the outside world.
"It's amazing how quickly people move now when your mother snaps her fingers." He chuckled shaking his head, "I still will never get over that one! Secretary Thorne is Julia Taylor's mother. Utterly fascinating."
"Benjamin, stay on track." Julia chided him with a soft smile though her eyes remained hidden behind the glasses, "You have what we need ready to go for Extraction?" She asked getting off of the topic of her own life and back onto the mission at hand.
"Yes, ma'am." Benji smiled at her answering her command but with a certain tone of sexiness applied in the way he said it and looked at her. Clearly there was story with these two as well. "Just like Operation Borscht Relief as per your instructions. And your satellite thermal imaging of the structure and surrounding areas."
"Good." Julia nodded with a soft smile, "Okay, everyone. Gear up." She motioned for them to dig into the weapons and gears crates to get whatever they wanted. "Agent Gibbs," Julia reached for one particular case and handed it over to him, "This is for you." She smiled softly.
Gibbs knew exactly what it was from the size of the case and when he opened it, he shook his head with a soft smile. It wasn't just any sniper rifle inside. It was his' own. He wasn't even going to bother asking how she found it in his basement or had it sent here and waiting. He just gave her a small smile of thanks and acknowledgement for knowing that he liked using his own.
"So how is Jack?" Benji smiled delving back into the personal matters after a few moments of silence as everyone began packing their gear with only he and Julia standing off to the side watching.
"He's well." Julia smiled softly, "Said that you two had a good time in Tel-Aviv."
The mentioning of Israel had everyone on the team slowing their movements to listen more intently to the conversation, especially given it was Jack who had appeared in Ziva's house in Tel-Aviv, and how was still a mystery.
Benji laughed softly shaking his head, "It was a nice, calm, guys night out. I promise, Jules. Nothing crazy. I had to take him out to celebrate the birth of your new babies! Congratulations, by the way. Twins. Very exciting." He smiled, "Jack was over the moon and lit up with a smile every time he spoke of them. I'm still trying to digest the fact that you're a mother, even all these years later and here you are the mother of six now. Fascinating where life leads you, isn't it?"
"It certainly is." Julia answered quietly and inhaled softly. "How are your little ones?"
"Good! Growing too quickly. The older they get, the harder it has become to leave them behind for long trips. Those big sad eyes begging me to 'stay Daddy,' just kill me." He shook his head with a smile.
"Yes, I know…now imagine four pairs of those big sad eyes begging you to stay." Julia answered quietly thinking of her own children, "It never gets any easier to leave your children behind."
The way she said the comment, Benji seemed to sense exactly what she was really speaking of and only nodded softly at her in agreement. Once more they fell into silence.
"My apologies for not introducing you all, but the less you know, the better." Julia looked between the man and the rest of the group. "Is everyone ready?" She looked at them all now fully stocked with weapons, ammo, and anything else they were going to need to raid this compound in Iran.
"You're not taking any weapons?" McGee asked seeing that Julia had taken none and only carried a small backpack.
"Agent McGee, I am a weapon." Julia answered quietly and they all swallowed a bit harder to hear her say that for the first time. "We should get going. Benji, we'll see you soon." She grasped the man's forearm and leaned in kissing his cheek. "Thank you."
They all boarded a military aircraft and were off again. The flight this time only lasted a little over an hour. They followed Julia through the dusty and hot little city known from smuggling Afghans through Iran and Taliban attacks resulting in mass casualties in the past year. She was Team Leader and did all the speaking and navigating for them as they made their way towards where they would be holding up until they moved in the cover of dark. They received more then a few looks and insults flung their way from those not liking the foreign invaders in their country, but the majority of people seemed to smile and move aside or ignore them completely, going on about their business.
When they came to the gates of a two story seedy little establishment in the edge of the border city, just blocks from the actual Iranian border, Julia began speaking with a man inside the small compound.
Their little group began to feel the hairs on the backs of their necks stand up as they glanced around the group that was slowly starting to circle them the longer they stood still. Men seemed to be coming forward slowly through the crowds with menacing stares and aggressive posture from every direction. Julia was seemingly ignoring what was happening as she continued to converse with the man behind the gates.
Ziva had been standing on the outside in front of Tony but behind Julia and as the crowd inched closer, Tony tried to push her more towards the center, seeing the man directly to their left with a particularly nasty gleam in his eyes looking at Ziva as he inched forward.
When the man was less then two feet away and with the crowd following closely behind, he began taunting Ziva with comments they were certain, had sexual connotations given how Ziva was reacting to them as well as the crowd. Their eyes began flashing around the edges of their group and counted at least 32 men they perceived as threats quickly approaching, surrounded by a crowd of more then a hundred. Their hands were itching to reach for their weapons feeling boxed in and the pressure rising with pounding hearts.
The man who was taunting insults reached out to grab Ziva's arm and she froze, about to attack him when she saw the large dagger hanging from his waist belt. Julia's words flashed through her mind just in time to stop Tony from surging forward.
"No!" She shouted back at him, seeing the look in his eyes and then nodded quickly towards the man's dagger in his belt.
"Let her go." Tony seethed calmly instead, doubtful the man spoke English but he was going to warn him nonetheless.
Ziva tried to slowly pull her arm away but the man only held more firmly, speaking to her with more force and pulling her closer, out of their circled group and into the edge of the crowd gathered.
"Tony, be quiet." Julia's voice entered Tony's head but he ignored her warning as fear for Ziva surged to new levels.
"I said let her go!" Tony's voice now rose and felt Gibbs' hand grab the back of his gear, pulling him back when Tony took a step forward.
"Easy." Gibbs spoke calmly, "We are outnumbered quite severely here, DiNozzo."
"Get your filthy hands off of her!" Tony still shouted at the man with a menacing glare and clenched jaw of his own and the man spit at him.
"Tony!" Julia's voice immediately scolded him loudly in his mind and snapped him out of the moment. "Stop!"
Slowly Julia turned around and walked towards the man with the dagger holding onto Ziva's arm. He'd already grabbed for his dagger and had it out, waving it around between Ziva and Tony. She stopped in front of him and stared intently.
Ziva could see the pools of gold flickering in Julia's eyes as she stare at the man and felt his grip on her arm loosen and then let go completely. To her utter astonishment, the man then handed the dagger over to Julia and stepped back, turning around and walking back into the mob who all took three steps backward in unison.
Julia sighed and turned her head, looking to Tony with a slanted brow and handed the dagger over to him. "Hold on to this. Maybe it will remind you to keep your mouth shut the next time I tell you to." She scolded him sternly in his mind and turned her attention back to Ziva.
"Stay behind me." She instructed and Ziva quickly stepped in closing the distance.
The man behind the gate at once opened it and let them pass, locking the gathered crowd outside and then led them up the tiny narrow staircase to the rooms on the second floor.
As soon as the man left the room, Tony lost his composure. "Was there some reason you waited so long to use your Jedi mind tricks to keep the angry mob away?" He threw down his backpack on the floor of the tiny room staring at Julia's back as she looked out the window.
"The situation was handled. Ziva is fine." Julia answered without turning around as the others in the room found a space on the floor with the pillows and rugs scattered about, making it their own temporary nest for the remaining part of the day.
"Fine?" Tony raged at her, feeling a loss of control over the entire situation and terrified not only of the angry mob that had suddenly surrounded them, the man who had taken Ziva by the arm but also that Julia knew the daggered-man would do such a thing and did nothing about him until after he'd already grabbed Ziva and put her in danger flinging his weapon around.
"Yes, fine, Tony." Ziva countered seeing the tension rising immediately and about to explode with the look in his eyes. "I am fine."
"No, its' not fine, Ziva! She is not telling us a damn thing about this plan or what we're walking in to! We're just blinding trusting someone we really know nothing about and am I the only one finding that incredibly insane now given she just led us into an angry mob?" Tony argued looking around at the rest of the group, while Julia with her back to him only infuriated him more. The fact she wasn't really speaking with him anymore had irritated him enough that he no longer knew what to do and reacted with what he knew best, lashing out in fear and anger.
"I planned to go over the compound details and mission plan once we'd reached this destination, Agent DiNozzo. The need to know was to keep Liat as safe as possible in the meantime." Julia answered with voice like steel. "And I warned you about the man with the dagger. You chose not to listen to that warning twice!"
"He grabbed Ziva by the arm and was pulling her into the crowd!" Tony argued back, "I wasn't about to sit back and do nothing!"
"And you spouting off at the mouth while outnumbered against 32 armed men and a growing mob of more then a hundred? Do tell me, Tony, how that would have ended well in your thinking process?" Julia fired back before turning to look at him with arms crossing over her chest, "You get one good punch in at the guy maybe even manage to get Ziva away and kill him? Good for you!" She chided him like a child, "But now you've just killed one of them and those hundreds of bystanders all become the chants for your blood and ours and Ziva! You would have solved nothing and created a far worse situation!"
"Well, clearly you can control their minds, getting the crowd to step back and the crazy man to hand over the dagger and walk away! So why didn't you keep them back in the first place?" Tony yelled back at her with fear at what she had said was true. Something he hadn't thought about in the moment of what those repercussions may have been.
"There is a limit to my energy levels, Tony! You have no idea how much it takes to control the actions of one person let alone hundreds, while at the same time shielding all of us from those who are looking and keeping my mind connected with yours and Ziva's and my children's and Liat! Thinking about what comes next and trying to argue with the man to let us in!" Julia fired right back listing off all the things she was doing at one time, "Not to mention trying to hold back what energy I do have building and conserve it for the actual rescue of Liat! And refraining from strangling your damn neck for your inability to actually listen! If anyone gets killed on this Op, it will be because of your inability to listen!" They all felt a pulse flood through their bodies and the lights in the room flickered off and then back on with the light bulb above them exploding from the surge.
They froze where they were with wide-eyes and pounding hearts feeling the sudden energy in the room as the objects around them began to shake as she stare with heated fiery gaze at Tony. The several small flower vases in the windowsill behind Julia suddenly shot out around her and past Tony's ears, shattering into the wall behind him and scaring the hell out of everyone.
"Next time I say listen, you listen! Or you will be the one getting killed!" Julia spoke in a voice more like a growl and then charge forward out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
"Ho-ly shit." E.J. let go of the breath she was holding and speaking in barely above a whisper with wide-eyes as the light socket above them still sparked and the remaining lights flickered.
Tony was standing with wide-eyes staring at the shards of blue, red and orange glass embedded in the wall around his head. Their arrangement so perfect in its outline, it was clear that each and every shard had been precisely controlled as to avoid his body given the curve of the glass in the wall depicting his head, neck and shoulders. He felt a sudden sharp slap to the back of his head and grimaced.
"Next time she says listen, DiNozzo. Listen!" Gibbs commanded staring at the glass shards in the wall as well. His heart was pounding from the events of the afternoon and what had just happened with Julia. To hear her say that if Tony didn't learn to listen to her, he would be the one killed on this Op. Given what she'd told them about her abilities to see the near future, she likely knew something they didn't. Especially given the fact she hadn't been wrong in her forewarning of the man with the dagger.
Ziva's heart was thundering loudly in her ears to near deafening levels having watched the exchange and then hearing Julia's warning that unless Tony learned to listen to her, he would be the one killed on this mission.
"She's not just telepathic," McGee gulped repeatedly staring at the glass in the wall and on the floor from the burst light bulb. "She's telekinetic too." He marveled at Julia's abilities to move things with just her mind as well. The outline of Tony's silhouette on the wall in colored glass shards was a testament of just how much control she had.
"So that part of the legend is true then," Malachi stood slowly to come and look at the wall more closely with awe in his voice and on his face. "They said she had the ability to move things with her mind."
"You knew about this?" Tony asked still feeling the waves of anger rolling inside and growing more pissed off by the moment seeing the outline in glass that she'd thrown his way. "Any other legends about The Phoenix you want to tell us, Mal?" He was angry with him now for not sharing that story before. "Give me a heads up next time she's capable of throwing objects in my direction, maybe?"
"Well you're the idiot who keeps insisting upon challenging her every word!" Malachi looked at him with narrowing brows of his own and crossed his arms, "She was right what she said! Had you attacked the man with the dagger the crowd and other men would have attacked us all! You weren't thinking! You put everyone in danger!"
"He grabbed Ziva! What did you expect me to do?" Tony argued back defensively.
"Use your head!" Malachi shot back, "Use your training! Think ahead about your actions instead of reacting in the moment!"
"Oh this is rich! You giving advice about thinking ahead and the repercussions of your actions!" Tony fired back at him.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Malachi looked at him incredulously.
"Tell me, were you thinking ahead when you slept with Liat and got her pregnant and then just left her for your job, Mal? Did you have that all thought out the moment she stood in your doorway that evening and told you that she loved you? Or did you just react to what was happening in the moment?" Tony snarled in his direction and everyone's eyes went wide.
"Enough!" Ziva stood between the two with her arms out and stopping them both from coming at each other. The mounting tension over the situation and stress of the Op was starting to get the best of them, lashing out at each other. "We are all on the same side!" She turned on Tony, "Go cool down!" She pointed her finger towards the adjoining room, "Now!" She wasn't giving him an option. He was likely going to end up dead before this mission was over and not from the enemy but from pushing either Julia or Malachi too far.
"Fine!" Tony grabbed his backpack and huffed away into the other room. Gibbs gave Ziva knowing look and sighed, following Tony.
"He has severe issues with controlling that temper of his, Ziva!" Malachi seethed with pounding heart and rapid breathing, remembering another time Tony reacted without thinking it through and had punched him twice in the face, "I may be able to control myself enough not kill him in the heat of the moment, but I can't say the same for her!" He nodded towards the door where Julia disappeared, "There is another legend about The Phoenix…one where she incinerates those who bring out her rage and turns them into a pile of ash and bone! Tony better start minding his tongue or you may want to seriously start considering cutting it out, lest he get himself burned to the ground!"
AN: Everyone... stay calm. All Tony concerns and comments and questions regarding his crazy behavior will be addressed in the next chapter! So hang in there! It's coming!