Star of David

Part 1.3

(Tony) As the plane prepares to touch down in Tel Aviv, I realize I have no where to go. The city rushes up to me; her city. She has to be down there somewhere, or somewhere nearby. She has to be.

I hurriedly exit the airport, trying to look like I have a purpose for being here, that I have not just flown into an unfamiliar city, alone, without any arrangements as to where I'm supposed to stay and without alerting any federal personnel of my arrival. My badge is tucked deep into my pants pocket, and I intend to keep it there. She is not Mossad, so I am not NCIS.

I find myself at a four-way intersection, standing at the corner, hesitating to step out onto the street, unsure of which way I should go. I could easily lose myself in this city. I could easily let her down, and in turn, let myself down. My phone buzzes; it is McGee. Just the man I need right now- he could give me coordinates, maps, anything I'd need to help me find her. I hit ignore.

I need to do this by myself. She left alone, and she'd going to die alone if I don't get there in time. She stands alone, just out of my reach in that vineyard. Only this time, I wasn't going to stop running. I'm going to get to her.

(McGee) He didn't pick up. I have every reason to believe he had gotten himself into the same trouble she did, but I don't. Somehow, I have a feeling he's okay, or as close to okay as he can get nowadays. He hasn't admitted it, but her leaving hit him hard. He's not the same- more strung out, nervous and skittish. He doesn't seem to be sleeping either.

Abby hurries over when she seems my free ear. "Anything?"

I shook my head, and gave Abby a hug. She's been different too; more dependent on me, I guess.

"I miss her too." I whisper in Abby's ear when I realize she's still clinging to me.

"Tony will find her. I know he will. I just can't believe she hasn't given us any sort of sign, you know? Why hasn't she contacted us?"

I take a deep breath, wishing I could answer her questions. I want to know, too. It isn't like her to do this, and it's especially not like the director of Mossad.

"All we can do is wait for Tony," I finally answer. Abby nods, and plops down in the chair next to me. I put my arm around her; she leans into my shoulder. We wait.

(Ziva) In, out, in, out, in, out. If I break into rage now it will only hurt myself, and him. I got myself into this mess by coming here, I am not dragging Tony down with me.

"Tell me, dear Ziva," Parsons begins, pacing the length of the room. "What do your friends at NCIS and Mossad think you're doing here? Surely you did not come without leaving behind a lie."

"They think I have become Director of Mossad," I say in monotone.

Parsons smiles. "Director? Seems fit. Want to live up to Daddy's expectations, now do we? I guess from now on I shall call you Director David."

I get thinking as he rambles on, slowly leading the conversation towards the databases. Even if I could figure out how to send a message back to NCIS through the hack I was about to perform, it meant sacrificing valuable intel from both agencies. I'd have to trust McGee's firewall would do its job if I tried to hack. But how would they be able to know to look for my location? How will they know it's me? The only other option is escape. I have no idea where I am or what the situation is like outside that door. One false move and Parsons' gun will be at my head. I am off my game, I can already tell. I don't know why, and now is not the time to think about that. I need to figure out a way to get out before plan A becomes the only plan. I quietly start to fiddle with the chains.

"You've put your precious agencies in quite the situation, David," Parsons continues. "Lucky for them, we've already whacked out their communication links."

"What do you mean-"

"Rookie mistake. We thought we'd gotten into the real deal." He smirked. "We might have failed, but you certainly will not."

He didn't have to list any threats for me to know what was at stake. My family at NCIS; the only people who even qualified as my family anymore. He'd already murdered any and all blood relatives.

"What makes you so sure?" I ask, stalling for time, trying to wriggle out of the chains without him noticing.

"Well for starters, I can see you've managed to get out of those chains. You didn't really think you'd get out of this that easy, did you?"

"No, just that you were stupid enough not to do anything about it." I spring forwards and slide the gun from his grip, twisting and shooting him in the foot before kicking open a hole in the wall and freefalling into the street, landing directly in Tony's arms.