Sorry for the confusion on this story, but i had a little bit of, difficulty. I had to canclel it then repost it. GRRR. although it is fine now and will continue as normal!!!

False accusation

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Chapter 1

Ziva strained to hear the voices above her, her neck screaming in protest every time she moved it. It was dark and she could hear the sound of water dripping somewhere to her left. Her hands were tied tightly with plastic tethers and her bare feet were shackled to the floor. She had not eaten for days, and even though she had been given a drink it was deliberately placed where she couldn't reach it. By day, the hot sun beat down through tiny gaps in the grate above, burning her exposed skin.

She wasn't getting out of this alone, that was for sure, and she could only hope that Abby was getting treated better than she was: she had promised Gibbs she would take care of the Goth scientist, and she was not one to break her promises.

Ziva tugged at her restraints one more time before drifting off into a troubled sleep, not even aware of the guard that watched her with a lustful look in his eye.

8 days earlier

Ziva woke suddenly, the screaming of the alarm near her head crying out for attention. She opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the harsh sunlight that streamed through her open window. Yawning she threw the blankets to the side, swinging her legs round to rest on the floor.

Stiffly rising from the bed she crossed her room to push open the door to her bathroom. She quickly washed, smiling as the hot water cascaded down on her cool skin. Hastily she dressed, slipping on her favourite pair of dark khaki trousers and a black top. Tying her hair back tightly, she rushed downstairs, not bothering to eat breakfast. She was late for work again!

As she had hoped, having not stopped at any of the traffic lights on the way, she had managed to arrive in record time. She rushed towards the elevator, the doors narrowly missing her as she darted through the quickly closing gap.

The bullpen was quiet when she stepped out of the elevator, hurrying to her desk and dropping her bag on the floor.

Tony DiNozzo smiled as she entered, flashing his teeth. "Good morning, Zee-Vah, late again I see"

Ziva rolled her eyes, pushing off her chair. "But you not going to tell Gibbs, are you, Tony?" she said, phrasing it as more of a statement then a question. He looked down to see her holding a paperclip, smirking. He swallowed hard, shaking his head.

"Uh… no" Ziva smirked at him, but was interrupted with a hand colliding with her head. "I don't have to." DiNozzo chuckled, a devilish grin on his face. Scrambling back to her desk, she glared at Tony.

"We got a dead petty officer, gear up" Gibbs snapped, and the team moved into action, starting towards the elevator.

----

Gibbs pulled up outside a small diner, coming to a stop just outside the door. Turning off the engine, Gibbs slammed the door as he got out, starting towards the alley beside the diner.

"What have we got, Duck?" he asked, stopping beside the Scottish doctor where the older man leaned over the body of a pretty blond.

"Petty officer Brenda Cole. Several stab wounds to the chest, centred on the heart area. Death was immediate, but there is no question that this was a savage attack."

"TOD?"

Ducky shook his head. "I would guess between 2 and 4 hours, but I'll know more once I get her to autopsy."

Gibbs glanced away from his friend, eyes falling to the victim. Her eyes were a blank cloudy blue, staring lifelessly up at the sky; blood stained the concrete beneath her, as well as the clothes she wore. Ziva was crouched down, searching the victim's pockets.

"She still has her ID, her keys and 100 dollars in cash. Whatever this was, it wasn't a robbery." She commented to Gibbs, who nodded.

"Mr Palmer could you please bring me the gurney?" Ducky asked, and Palmer rushed towards the van.

"Any witnesses, Duck?"

"No, but one of the waitresses found her body." Ducky explained. Gibbs patted Ducky on the back as he pointed to a tubby woman dressed in white. Her brown curls were held up in a hairnet and her eyes were red from crying.

"DiNozzo, talk to the waitress; McGee, bag and tag; Ziva, photos." as Gibbs barked his orders the team complied without question. The click of the camera, the rustle of clothing and the quiet chatter of voices became the only noises present at the otherwise hushed crime scene.

Gibbs joined Ziva by the body, shivering slightly against the cold that bit at his skin, his long brown coat doing little to warm him up.

"What do you think happened here, David?" He asked, causing Ziva to shrug, and then bend down again for a closer look at the body.

"No defence wounds, so she didn't fight back, only injuries are the three stab wounds around the heart centred around the three major arteries. This person likely knew what they were doing, or at least had some medical knowledge" Gibbs quirked an eyebrow, a small smile on his face. Ziva, noticing his expression, stood up grinning. "I picked a few things up from Ducky at our…'Tea parties" she put two fingers up, bending and unbending them in quotation marks.

"Right, when you're done here…" Gibbs started, reaching into his pocket and throwing the keys to Ziva. She caught them, looking at her boss questioningly "You're driving back." He smiled as her grin grew larger, her eyes moving to Tony, as she smirked at his surprised and almost scared expression.

"Boss!" McGee shouted from the far corner of the alley, where he knelt down on all fours to peer under the dumpster. The sound of metal dragging against concrete grated at Gibbs ears, making him wince. McGee held up a knife, its point glinting in the dim sunlight. "I think we found the murder weapon boss" said McGee, placing the evidence carefully on a plastic bag and handing it over to Gibbs.

Closely inspecting it, he frowned. "This knife looks like it could be from one of the tables in the diner," he said "Suggests the murder wasn't premeditated." Gibbs passed the bag back to McGee. "We'll know more when we get it to Abby"

The team reassembled, watching as the body of the Petty Officer was wheeled away, before heading for the car. Tony finally turned to look at Ziva. She turned her head to glance at him, an innocent expression, crossing her features. "Gibbs really let you drive?" he asked, a slight quiver in his voice.
She smiled wickedly, spinning the keys on her index finger.

"Yup."

----

When the team entered Abby's lab, they were greeted by the sound of her current favourite band: Brain Matter. The team watched, amused, as the forensic scientist spun on her chair, singing, or rather screaming, the lyrics to the song that was playing.

"Abby." Gibbs shouted over the music, causing the Goth to stop dead in her tracks.

"Hey guys!" she said, jumping from the chair and hopping over to the team. A large smile was etched on her black painted lips, almost reaching her ears. Gibbs handed her a Caf-Pow, which she happily accepted.

"We got a case, Abs." Gibbs anounced, holding up the evidence bag containing the knife. Abby nodded around large gulps of her Caf-Pow, then snatched the bag away from Gibbs, turning to her computers.

"I need you to try and get a print off the knife." he shouted, still trying to be heard over the music. Sighing, he marched over to the CD player, pressing the pause button.

"Abby?" she turned around, a confused expression on her face. "Did you hear what I said?" she smiled and nodded her head quickly, hopping over to her worktop.

"Abs, how many Caf-Pows have you had so far?" Abby's face turned red, as she grinned guiltily.

"This is my first." Gibbs rose his eyebrows. Abby shrunk further into the chair she was perching on. "Ok, three... including this one." she admitted, Gibbs smiled.

A beeping sound drew their attention across the room.

"Wow, that was fast, it already found a match to the print." Abby said. She glanced at the screen, looking at the man that stared back at them.

Officer Samul Rehaab stared back at them, a small smile tugging at his lips. He was a handsome man, with black cropped hair and a cleanly shaven face.

"Says here that Officer Samul Rehaab is a Palestinian national, he was stationed here by the Palestine government when he joined the army, three years ago. Perfect record, not even a parking ticket!" Gibbs frowned.

"Does he have medical experience?" he asked.

Abby nodded. "He was trained as a medic"

"Good work Abs" Gibbs said, kissing Abby on the cheek. He started towards the elevator.

"Gibbs, wait!" Abby shouted, he turned, looking at her expectantly.

"The vic, Petty Officer Cole, she was Samul's fiancée."

-----

The afternoon arrived slowly, the promise of rain clearly written in the dark clouds above DC. The ding of the elevator introduced the smell off food and coffee.

DiNozzo stepped out, his hands full. Holding two large takeaway pizzas in one hand, and a cardboard tray of coffees on the other, he rushed to his desk, placing everything on top of the already messy surface. He looked around.

"So, what you guys having for lunch?" he joked, causing Ziva to smile, while holding the phone to her ear.

"Where are McGoo and the Boss?" Tony asked noticing the absence of the others. Ziva pointed to the Directors office.

Tony sat down at his desk, watching as Ziva began to talk to whoever was on the phone. Although he didn't know what she was saying, he could tell by her tone that she was beginning to get angry.

She wrote something on a piece of paper, then slammed the phone down with more force then necessary.

Tony hesitated before speaking. "So, Zee-Vah, you still haven't told us why you were late this morning " Ziva sighed

"Will you just let it go Tony… you are such a broken tape." she said, throwing her hands up in a defensive gesture.

Tony smiled. "The term is broken record, and why were you late… rough night?," he said, waggling his eyebrows at her.

"Must everything be about sex to you Tony!"

"What else is there?" he chuckled.

"You are such a child!"

Tony grinned again and threw a ball of paper at Ziva, hitting her square in the forehead. She stood from her chair, snatching the paper from the floor and marching over to Tony.

Slamming it down on the desk, she leaned closer to him. "Next one is going down your throat!" Tony nodded and gulped, sinking into his chair. She smiled sweetly, making her way to her chair.

"What have you got for me Ziva!" Gibbs shouted as he came downstairs. Ziva stood from her chair, grabbing the paper she had been writing on.

"I managed to get Samul Rehaab's last known location and contact details" Gibbs stopped in front of her desk.

"Last known?" he asked.

Ziva nodded. "Gibbs, according to this Officer Samul Rehaab died three years ago." Jethro inched closer to Ziva, looking down on her.

"Then can you explain how his prints got on that knife?" he leaned forward menacingly, as he had anticipated, but Ziva stood her ground, also leaning in.

"No, Gibbs, I cant" For a moment they just stared at each other, dearing each other to blink. It was Gibbs that looked away first, snatching the paper from Ziva's hand.

Dialling the number she had written down, he put it on speaker phone. On the third ring, someone answered.

"Hello?" replies a man's voice, his tone rough and slurred. Gibbs looks at McGee, mouthing for him to trace the call.

"Is this Samul Rehaab?" Gibbs asked. Silence greeted him, a click, then the dial tone.

"DiNozzo take McGee to this address." Gibbs shouted, handing Tony a piece of paper.

"David, you're with me, we are going to where Rehaab is." They started for the elevator, when Director Sheppard's voice stopped them.

"You aren't going anywhere, Gibbs, I need you in my office... now." Gibbs sighed, glancing at Ziva.

"I can handle it on my own Gibbs" she pleaded. He shook his head.

"I can go with her" Abby's voice came from beside him, seeming to appear from nowhere. Gibbs thought about it, then reluctantly nodded. Taking Ziva's arm before going up stairs he whispered in her ear.

"You take care of her"

"I promise." Ziva said then continued to the elevator, a very exited Abby bouncing beside her.

-------

Ziva eventually pulled up in front of a warehouse, turning off the engine and pulling her out her gun.

"Is he still in there?" She asked Abby. The goth glanced at the small GPS in her hands. Abby nodded.

"Stay here!" The mossad officer comanded, getting out of the car.

"But Ziva..." Abby called, but she was already out of sight, leaving Abby on her own.

The moment Ziva entered the building, she was tackled to the floor, her gun slipping from her grasp and falling with a clatter, as the man's larger weight pinned her to the floor and two large hands wrapped around her neck.

"Who are you?" Her attacker screamed in her face.

"Federal Agent, and you are under arrest for the murder of Petty Officer Cole." Ziva could feel the man's hands tighten around her neck, struggling for breath, she jabbed him in the side hard enough to cause him to let go of her. Rolling to her feet, they began to circle each other, each daring the other to make the first move.

"Why did you kill her Samul?" Ziva asked, her eyes never leaving his face. Samul stopped, his facial expression changing.

"I didn't mean to, I loved her. But she was going to expose me, she would have ruined everything!" Ziva could see the man shaking with rage. "I was gonna start a new life here, kids… a little picket fence…she was going to ruin it… I didn't mean to kill her!" Ziva made a face.

"You faked you're own death to start a life here?" Ziva asked, Samul nodded, pulling a gun from his waistband and pointing it at Ziva. The mossad officers gaze fell to the black metal that lay by the door, her own gun just sligtly too far out of reach.

"I can't let anyone find out that I am still alive!" he shouted. Ziva's eyes snapped to the gun, then up to his face.

"Then go ahead and shoot me." she calmly said, then smiled. "You already have a whole government agency looking for you. You kill me, you going down for two counts of murder. That's a long time" Samul swallowed hard, his finger twitching on the trigger. Ziva stared at him, her own hands twitching in anticipation.

And then a loud gunshot rang out…

Thankyou to all thoughs that reviewed the first time i posted this chapter. (keep reading)