Special Agent Kate Todd stood in the bullpen, sorting through reports, when Ari Haswari appeared in the doorway of the NCIS office. It wasn't often that the Mossad liaison officer came to them with a troubled expression, and even Kate, who was typically skeptical of Ari's intentions, noticed the shift.
Ari's dark eyes scanned the room, pausing when they landed on Gibbs. He approached the team leader's desk with purposeful strides.
"Gibbs," Ari said in a low voice, "I can't wait anymore" Ari needed to know where his sister was. Now. Not in a few days or hours. He did not care which case they had he could only focus on Ziva.
Gibbs glanced up from his paperwork, his sharp blue eyes locking onto Ari. "I still haven't heard back from my contact Ari. You have to wait. I know it's not easy but..."
"Gibbs I..." Ari tried to say.
"Officer Haswari" said Gibbs in a firm voice. "Sit down paperwork now. I should hear from my contact within the next hour so wait"
Ari took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second. With a slightly trembling voice he said "Yes sir" and went back to his desk.
Kate, who had been eavesdropping from her desk, raised an eyebrow and asked Ari "Is everything alright?"
Ari ignored her so she stood up and walked towards his desk. Ari still did not look up so she touched his shoulder "Hey Ari" she said with a concerned voice. "Are you alright?" she asked again
"Not now Kate" said Ari slightly angry.
"Don't let your anger out on me" said Kate to him waiting that he would finally look at her and tell her what the problem was.
Gibbs then stood up and walked away as his phone rang. Ari was about to walk past Kate and follow him when Gibbs said "Stay".
Ari balled his fists to comprehend his feelings still ignoring Kate right next to him.
For Ari it felt like hours that Gibbs was away but it where only minutes. When he came back he said "We have a new case. Don't have to gear up".
"Gibbs..." said Ari but a glance of the older Agent was enough for him to stop talking. A friend of mine just confirmed that there might be a female prisoner in a terrorist camp in Somalia".
Aris muscles tightened as Gibbs started talking and his eyes darted towards Gibbs.
"Uhmm boss" said McGee. "And how is NCIS involved? Is it a marine?"
"No it is not" said Gibbs. "Ari will tell us more about the case" he continued.
"Is this why you are angry?" asked Kate but Ari had something else in mind to talk about.
"Three month ago my sister left for a mission and I have not heard from her since then which is not usual. I suspected that something was wrong and through friends and former colleagues I found out more about the mission. Which was in an Somalian terrorist camp. I came to Gibbs because I did not know what to do" he said.
Kate could feel that the liaison officer who usually looked cold had a lot of feelings in his voice right now. She put her hand on his upper arm to calm him and she could feel his muscles moving underneath her arm.
Tony DiNozzo, leaning against his desk, chimed in with his usual sarcasm, though there was genuine concern in his tone. "And you're only now coming to us? You think Mossad would have shared if something happened?"
Ari shot him a glare. "Mossad has its own way of handling things. But Ziva… she's my sister. And I don't trust them to do what's necessary to find her. As far as I know they did nothing up to now"
"Wait but... isn't your father Eli David as in head of Mossad Eli David?" Asked Tony.
"Yes we share the same father Tony" answered Ari crossing his arms.
"Then why is he not looking for your sister who is also his daughter?" asked Tony wondering about the family dynamics of the Haswari David household.
"First of all we are Mossad officers and secondly his children. Our fathers concern lay elsewhere then our wellbeing" said Ari with a grudge in hiy voice.
Gibbs could not understand that a father could be like that. He would do anything to see his little girl for a few seconds and yet Eli David left his kid to die.
Gibbs glanced at his team—Kate, Tony, and McGee—and made a decision. "I have already talked with the director. Case is ours. McGee, start digging into Ziva's last known location. Tony, check the contacts in Africa. We need to know everything about this mission she was on. Kate—"
"I'll follow up on any chatter from international agencies," Kate said, anticipating her assignment.
Gibbs stood and grabbed his coffee. "Let's get moving. And Ari we will find her".
The day went over quite fast for everyone but Ari who just sat in his chair staring into the air. It felt like a lifetime for him until the team had gathered the information the needed.
The team gathered in the conference room around the large table. Satellite images of the region in Somalia where Ziva was reportedly being held flickered on the screen.
"Alright," Gibbs started, "we know a female who might be Ziva is being held by a terrorist operating out of this compound, here." He pointed to a cluster of buildings surrounded by desert terrain. "It's heavily guarded, but we've got a window of opportunity. They're expecting a weapons shipment in a few days, which means their security might be focused on that."
Tony leaned forward, studying the map. "How many men are we talking about?"
"Enough to make this dangerous," Kate said, eyeing the layout. "But if we time it right, we can slip in and out before they realize what's happening."
Gibbs nodded. "Ari, what can you tell us about these guys?"
Ari, standing with his arms crossed, stared at the images. "They're ruthless. They won't hesitate to kill anyone who crosses them. But they'll also be distracted by the shipment. If we use that to our advantage, we can create enough confusion to get Ziva out. We already had a lot of trouble with that group they change location quite often which made them hard to catch. They are responsible for a lot of deaths in Isreal and other countries. They are also responsible for the death of US soldiers. Ziva took it personally just like I would have because the head of the cell is responsible for the death of our mothers and our sister Tali"
For a second everyone looked at Ari. They knew he had a sister because they had overheard him talking with her and they had seen on MTAC before when they had a case but they did not know about a second sister.
"Extraction plan?" Tony asked, looking at Gibbs.
"We'll go in with a small team," Gibbs replied. "Too many people, and we'll draw attention. I want Kate and McGee running comms from a safe location nearby. Tony, Ari, and I will go in. We grab the prisoner, get her out, and head straight to the extraction point where a helicopter will be waiting."
Ari's face remained serious, his concern for his sister hidden behind a layer of steely focus. "I know the terrain well. I can get us through the compound without raising suspicion. But we have to move fast."
McGee, typing furiously on his laptop, looked up. "I've secured satellite images of the compound. It looks like there are two main entrances, but there's also a side passageway here," he pointed to a spot on the screen, "that might be less guarded. If we go in at night, that's our best bet."
Tony grinned slightly, the usual cocky spark back in his eyes. "I'll pack the night vision goggles."
Kate leaned over the table, her voice serious. "What about Ziva? If she's been there for weeks, she might be injured or… worse. We need to prepare for that."
Ari's jaw tightened, but he didn't flinch. "She's strong. She'll survive." He did not want to think about what they could have done to her and are probably doing right now.
Gibbs nodded. "We'll assume she's alive and ready to fight. Anything else is unacceptable."
The room was quiet as everyone absorbed the gravity of what they were about to attempt. Gibbs broke the silence.
"Alright. We leave tomorrow at 0600. Get some rest. We've got a long fight ahead of us."