It seems like any other day at NCIS headquarters at first. Ziva and McGee arrive early as usual and are working at their desks. Tony tip toes in about an hour later than everyone else.

"Is Gibbs in yet?" he asks head down, backpack on his shoulder, reminiscent of a naughty school boy.

"I haven't seen him all morning," McGee replies, checking his watch.

"Phew! I thought he'd be here before me for sure," Tony smirks as he drops his backpack and flops carelessly into his seat.

"How do you do it, Tony?" Ziva asks, shaking her head in dismay.

"Do it, Agent David? I could show you if you want," Tony replies suggestively, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh God, Tony! Never mind," she snaps, frustrated at his childishness.

"So, where is the boss?" Tony enquires. "It's not like him to be late."

"No idea," McGee replies, turning back to his computer screen.

Just then Ziva's phone rings. She answers, listens briefly and hangs up. She stands up to leave.

"The Director wants to see me," she announces.

"Ha! Ha! What did you do this time?" Tony teases with a grin.

"Grow up, Tony!" Ziva retorts, as she makes her way up the stairs to Director Sheppard's office.

Ziva knocks before entering. She is surprised to see a very serious looking Gibbs sitting across from the Director, Jenny Sheppard.

"Take a seat, Agent David," Jen says, more of an order than a request. Ziva sits in the empty seat next to Gibbs, her mind racing, trying to think what she might have done wrong. She realises that something's not right.

"What's this about?" she asks calmly. Gibbs slides an enlarged photograph across the desk towards her. It's a grainy photo of a man, obviously taken from a security camera.

"Do you recognise him?" Gibbs asks sternly. Ziva examines the photo again.

"No, should I?" she asks.

"His name is Tariq Zamir. He is a known member of the outlawed HAMAS militia. We have received intel from Mossad that he has been sent to the U.S. on a mission. They aren't able to specify what that mission is at the moment. All they have told us is that in Israel lately, there have been a number of kidnappings of high profile personnel or their families. Your family could be a target so your Eli has asked that we ensure you receive round the clock protection until he is apprehended," Jen explains.

"Why? I am of no interest to them," Ziva states defiantly.

"Maybe not you specifically, but your father is. As the assistant director of Mossad, he is a powerful man and they could use you to get to him," Gibbs explains.

"Are you sure this man is in the U.S.?" Ziva asks.

"That picture was taken at Newark International Airport 3 days ago. He's here. All agencies have been notified. For security reasons, you won't be doing field work for a while and you will be under the protection of your team outside office hours," Jen tells her.

"Great! So, who's babysitting tonight then?" Ziva asks, not at all impressed by the arrangement.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs replies, smiling widely.

"You're kidding, right?" she says her tone failing to hide her fury. "Gibbs!?"

Gibbs just shrugs and stands up to leave.

"Let's go and tell Tony the good news," Gibbs quips as he strolls through the door, leaving Ziva looking pleadingly at the Director. Jen shrugs also and Ziva realises that she's not going to win this one. Ziva follows Gibbs back to the bullpen. He is already beginning to tell Tony of his new protection duty.

"Ziva, I was just telling DiNozzo about being asked to protect a V.I.P.," he tells her, trying to hide a grin.

"Nice one, Boss! So who is it? A movie star? I know, a sports star right?" Tony guesses, getting very excited at the prospect. Gibbs allows Tony to continue, knowing that he just needs to give Tony enough rope to hang himself.

"Ah ha! It's a hot girl, isn't it? Ooh, McGeek, you missed out on this one! C'mon Gibbs, don't leave me guessing," Tony pleads, getting more and more worked up.

"Would you like to tell him Ziva?" Gibbs asks.

"I'd love to," she replies, walking closer to Tony.

"Well, come on tell me," Tony begs, his eagerness almost palpable.

"It's me!" Ziva says curtly, her expression flawless.

"Ha! Ha! Okay…I see what you're trying to do. Now are you going to tell me, really?" Tony asks, getting a little frustrated.

"I have told you already," Ziva replies. "It's me," she stresses.

"That's not funny Boss. Make her tell me," Tony says, sitting down, looking dejected behind his desk. Meanwhile, McGee is thoroughly enjoying watching Tony's torture.

"It's no joke, DiNozzo. Intel indicates that Ziva may be the target of a kidnapping attempt. One of us is to be with her at all times. Her apartment is probably unsafe so tonight she stays with you," Gibbs delights in telling him.

"Eh, Boss, you see…tonight's not good for me. I've made plans and …," Tony stammers.

"They've been cancelled," Gibbs says definitively, without looking up from his desk. Tony realises that there's no point arguing. Gibbs always wins. So he resigns himself to the fact that he can look forward to a cosy night in with Ziva. Still fuming, he glares over at Ziva, who has since returned to her desk. She scowls over the desk at him but they don't say another word. Spending a night in Tony's place is not high on Ziva's list of priorities either, but she realises that in this case, she has little choice.

For the rest of the day the team try and gather as much information about the terrorist Tariq Zamir. Using all databanks at their disposal, they discover that Zamir was a significant figure in the HAMAS militia in the 90's and was suspected of involvement in a number of high profile murders. In the late 90's, he is known to have established "trading" links with known terrorist organisations, including the Taliban. Gibbs interest is pricked when the name Ari Hashwari appears in a number of intelligence reports relating to Zamir. It seems Mr. Zamir had more than a passing acquaintance with the late Ari Hashwari.

Their investigations uncover the fact that Zamir entered the States on a false passport under the name of Kalid Hassan. His immigration documents state that he is in the country on vacation for one month. The hotel address given is the New York Manhattan Hotel. They check with the hotel and they confirm that he had stayed there for one night only and had checked out the previous day. He had made no calls and had received no guests as far as they knew. The team check rail, bus and car rental companies to see if he had made reservations under either name. They draw a blank. Eventually, at 7.30 pm Gibbs tells them to pack it in for the night and go home.