Chapter 8

Tony's phone was ringing. It never rang at work. In fact, most of the time he remembered to turn it off and stash it in his desk. This time, this day, he had just thrown it on top. Tony recognized the number. It was his 70-year-old neighbor. She sometimes texted him her grocery list. He would pick it up, and she would cook him some of the best fried chicken that he had ever eaten. This message was different though. It was a short message followed by a picture.

In the picture was a woman wearing blue jeans and a black sweater. She had blondish/light brown hair, and she was bent down as if she was trying to pick the lock. Tony stood dumbfounded. His eyes went wide as he looked at the back of the female his neighbor had seen, trying to gain entrance into his apartment.

Tony sent the picture to Vance with the caption. Who does this look like to you? Tony based his assessment of who it was on her body shape and relative height.

Tony then took the stairs, two at a time, to the director's office. The Team Lead knocked and entered the office just as Vance was picking up his phone.

Tony stood silently in front of the desk, waiting for Vance to study the picture.

"I don't know the details. I've sent you exactly what my neighbor sent me. I sent it to Tim. He's putting out a BOLO."

Vance looked up at Tony. He was sure he was seeing Ziva's back, just as sure as Tony was. "Thank God for nosey neighbors!"

Tony nodded. "I'm sending the woman a muffin basket."

"Do you think Ziva knows where Gibbs is? That he is no longer a part of NCIS?" Vance asked.

Tony shook his head. And he realized that he had not told Vance about talking to Gibbs. "I went to his house, yesterday. He's…he'll be prepared. He's taking it seriously. He could tell I had a purpose for my visit."

"Well…I'm glad he knows. And, I think Abby, Ducky and Jimmy need to know also. Tell McGee to be careful, too." Vance advised him.

Tony nodded. He knew, all too well, desperate people do desperate things. If Ziva could use those closest to him to get to him, or to Gibbs. She would. And, she would not hesitate. They would all just be pawns to her. He really couldn't imagine that she had any feelings for any of them, anymore.

"I'll send him the picture, too. So, at least, he will know she's changed her hair color." Tony said of Gibbs.

"Good idea." Vance paused. "And, look out for the rest of your team. We have no idea how much research she's done on you since she left."

Tony nodded. "They will all be on guard. Everybody here should be on guard.

Vance sighed. "You're probably right about that. But, especially Abby, Ducky and Jimmy. I'm make sure they are assigned escorts to and from the building. They will have to keep their doors locked with an agent stationed outside…."

"It's gonna feel like prison."

Vance shrugged. "If Ziva's here, she'll make her move. It'll be over soon."

Tony nodded.

"I don't like this!" Special Agent Karen Cates replied as her team leader laid out his plan.

"WE don't like this!" Tim echoed as he looked on, in astonishment at what Tony planned to do.

"It's the only way to draw her out." Tony replied.

"There are other ways." Another member of his team, Harvey Westman, stated.

"Okay, the quickest way to draw her out." Tony looked around at his team. They didn't seem convinced. "Look, the longer she waits, the more desperate she will become. I will not put anybody else in unnecessary danger. It's me she wants.

Tim shook his head. "There has to be another way."

"I have it all worked out. We all do our parts. It'll…." Tony replied.

They all looked at Tim, who was shaking his head. "I've worked with you in the past. Since when do you stick to the script?"

"Since your life, and everybody else's life, on this team, became my responsibility." Tony said.

Tim could not argue with that. They both had grown up, a lot, in the past year.

Tim nodded. He waited until Tony had dismissed the other members of the team before he spoke again. "Where is Gibbs in all this? What if she gets the drop on him?"

Tony really didn't know. He had hoped Vance might put a detail on him. At least for a few weeks, just to be safe. Since the threat did come to him while he was still an NCIS agent, maybe they would take care of him. Tony would go and find out what was going on here after he got off work today.

"I'll go by on my way home. He'll…hopefully he will have taken his boat and sailed away somewhere."

"Yeah, I hope so." Tim sighed.

She waited until nightfall. It was easier not to be noticed. And, she knew he had to come out in the morning. He had to drive to work. Old cars like this didn't have the new anti-theft features the modern cars did. So, a Slim-Jim and a few seconds later, she was snuggled on the floor, under a blanket, in the backseat of Tony DiNozzo's prized '67 Mustang.

Tony awoke to his car alarm. He looked out his window. The car was still there. But, he thought he saw movement in his back seat. He let his curtain fall back into place. He had gotten the silent alarm years ago. He knew his older model car was more subject to theft. He took steps to guard against it, and had a silent alarm installed. He smiled, chuckled to himself, and went back to bed.

Tony came down in the morning, ready for work. He had called team and filled them in. They all arrived and stationed themselves as close to Tony's car as they dared. He stayed in the shadow of his doorway until he saw a figure exit the car. She looked in all directions and then started down the street away from him.

Tony stepped out of the shadows and started to follow her. That was the signal to his team. They broke their covers and started towards Ziva, still keeping their distance.

Tony waited until he was an arms distance from her before he spoke.

"Hey Ziva, was my backseat comfortable?"

Ziva whirled on him, rage on her face. But, she had been caught off guard, and Tony used that to his advantage. She raised her hand to strike. But, Tony was too fast for her. He grabbed her arm and forcibly turned her, dislocating her shoulder. He slammed her against the closest hard surface, which happened to be a parked car, to get a better control of her. She practically growled as she felt the pain in her shoulder and the cuffs go around her wrists. Tony whipped her back around, ignoring her cry of pain as her back made contact with the car. Things moved quickly as the members of his team arrived on the scene, guns pointed at the former agent.

Tony smiled at Ziva as he shook his head. "Wow! You must feel like about 6 kinds of stupid right now?"

Tony laughed as she growled at him again. She knew better than to try to lunge at him. She just glared.

Tony shook his head. "Outsmarted by a beat cop turned federal agent." He taunted. "You know, I would feel like a dumbass, too!"

She hissed at him and acted as if she was going to make a move towards him.

"Not a smart move there, Ziver." Tony smirked. "Oh, you haven't met my team. But, unfortunately, now is not the time for introductions." He paused, thoroughly enjoying the moment. "Just know, if you make any more, and I mean ANY move they deem, as a threat to me. They WILL shoot you!"

"Good plan there, Tony." Tim said after they had dropped Ziva off and arrived at the office.

Tony smiled, and shook his head. "You can't go by the plan if the criminal won't cooperate. It's not like I could read her in or anything."

"I am just glad it's over. No shots fired, and she will be shipped back to Israel for 20 years of hard time." Tim stated.

"Very fitting." Karen stated. "But, why was her dad so hard on her. I would think…."

Tony shook his head. "Eli David is a soulless bastard, and his international image is more important to him that his daughter's life."

"That is just wrong." Harvey added. "But, at any rate, it's over. We can get back to the usual horrors of this job."

"Amen!" Tony and Tim said in unison.

THE END

END NOTES: I hope no one is disappointed in this ending. I just decided not to go with the dramatic. I think that Tony needed to show her up. That was very satisfying for me. A special thanks to Acrwdof1 for all the excellent weapons-procedure information. I did not use it here. But, it may show up in another fic. Thanks, as always, for taking this ride with me. And, as always, if you see mistakes, (typos, continuity issues, etc.) please PM me. JL