Chapter Thirty-Two

Friday Morning

"How'd it go?" Garcia all but pounced on Morgan as he exited the conference room.

"I'm suspended." Morgan offered none to happily as he loosened his tie.

"For how long?" Sure, the idea wasn't pleasant, but it was to be expected and honestly… he could be worse off.

"Until further notice." Derek huffed as he began walking down the hall.

"What? Why? Those suspensions are only for ongoing hearings." Clearly her opinion had been formed too soon.

"Apparently, this was one. I'll know in a few weeks whether or not I'll be receiving a credential change." The idea had his blood boiling.

"They want to bust your rank!" She was surprised. Derek had worked hard for the FBI and he deserved the SSA title. "What did Gideon say about it?"

"He didn't say a word past the insubordination charges." He set his jaw with those words. Gideon was supposed to be his friend, yet he hadn't spoken a word in his defense which left Derek feeling more than a little betrayed.

"I'm sure he's trying to make things right with Strauss as we speak." Garcia assured. She had too much faith in her team to be willing to believe otherwise.

"At least one of us is." Morgan offered as they reached Penelope's office door.

She wasn't sure what he meant but the dark undertones in his voice had her leaving it be as she led them into her office. "So, I've been following what look to be payouts" Penelope began as she sat in her chair and lifted a fury pen. "And I think I've found a few local suppliers."

"What kind of suppliers?" His brow furrowed. Whether it be drugs or guns, it would be an equal pain in his ass.

"Not that kind sweet cheeks." Garcia denied as she read his mind. "Although, I have been coming across some pretty iffy stuff."

"Baby girl, get to it."

"Hold your horses hot stuff." She ordered before she explained, "It took days of hacking just to find the bread crumbs I'm supposed to follow."

"And I appreciate it." He knew that she had been having a hard time finding any type of bank account for Eli and had only been able to locate information on him through Gevlak's accounts. He also knew that all she had to work with so far on Ziva was a few old aliases Adam had provided. "Can you just pump the guns a little bit?"

"If you insist." She feigned a sigh before beginning. "Gevlak has received a deposit from Eli's account every month for as long as I can tell. A day after he receives this deposit he makes deposits to the same four accounts. I've tracked down three of them so far and they've all come back to corner store/mercantile type shops."

"We need to get Adam to look into that." Morgan reached into his pocket for his phone, a little annoyed that he couldn't perform the task himself, but Garcia interrupted him by saying, "Already done."

"Alright," Morgan stopped to collect his thoughts as he wondered, "So what exactly are they supplying? So far it sounds like we could be chasing Eli's grocery list."

"Not unless I'm severely mistaken on the current currency exchange rates. For the deposits they've been receiving I'd say Eli and Gevlak had setup some kind of "No questions asked" agreement. We'll have to wait and see what Adam finds out, but I'd say these guys probably know a thing or two about keeping a safehouse stocked and a survival kit handy."

"Good work baby Girl." Morgan squeezed her shoulder as he thought over her words.

It made sense.

If you were running or just wanted your presence to remain unknown it would be a good idea to have a middle man bring your food and toiletries to you.

"If you need me, I'm headed to NCIS."

"Of course you are." She smiled as she bid him adieu. She had work to finish and hopefully what she had given him so far could bring him and NCIS a new start.

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Barely aware, she settled further down into the softest feeling she had ever known. Her skin felt like it was tingling and her mind seemed to be trapped in a fog, but it was welcome. As long as her senses were dulled she could allow herself to float right away on this cloud she had blissfully conjured up. For she knew that once she awoke her reality as a captive would come to haunt her again. Her cloud would turn into a cement slab and any comfort would float right away with the illusion.

He would come, and hell would follow.

Only, where was he?

She couldn't remember the last time she had been allowed to sleep so soundly.

It scared her.

He was up to something.

The tingling of her body turned to shaking as she involuntarily reacted to the pain she was positive she would soon be feeling. If he was late he would probably be angry… or bringing friends. The thought broke through her half-conscious mind and her eyes shot open in fear though she desperately clenched them once more. She couldn't do that again, she'd rather die.

Her heart raced as she tried desperately to rid her mind of the idea. She wouldn't… the memory disappeared as something touched her and she nearly jumped from her skin.

Her breathing was ragid as she tried to pull herself together, it would be worse if she didn't.

With her eyes still tightly clenched she waited for the inevitable, but when it didn't come she decided to risk a glance to the side.

She didn't believe her eyes.

There sleeping next to her was Spencer with his hand resting against her arm. And suddenly she remembered. He had been captured too.

Only, a good glace around made it clear that this was not their cell.

She sat up as she realized that she was in a bedroom.

It hadn't been a dream, they really had escaped. She turned her gaze back to Spencer as her mind searched for memories that still seemed to be missing. He looked pale which only made the contrast of the bandage wrapped around his torso starker. In fact, the only color he held was from a multitude of bruises that marred his frame. It hurt her to see as she was sure he was in pain but as much as she wanted to soothe him, she wanted him to rest more. He clearly needed it. Besides there was no point in waking him when she could feel sleep once more pulling her in. First though, she needed water. Her mouth felt drier than the desert they had crossed so she knew dehydration was probably setting in.

As silently as she could, she stood from the bed only to be met with a variety of aches and pains and for a moment she thought her feet would fail her, but soon enough it turned to just an overall soreness and she started for the door. It was clearly late evening, but she didn't bother with any lights as she made her way through what was obviously the living room. To the right of that was a short hall with three doors, but she didn't dare go that way as she toed into what had to be the kitchen. She risked flipping the light switch in this room and was rewarded with the beautiful sight of a sink. She was in front of it in seconds and didn't hesitate as she turned the water on, cupped her hands, and began drinking her fill.

The water dripping through her fingers carried weeks' worth of unwashed dirt, but it didn't bother her. In fact, it tasted like heaven compared to the near sewage she had been living off of.

Still, she was soon shutting the water off as her stomach began to cramp. The last time she had eaten must have been days ago and her stomach was clearly unhappy with that. A look around showed a loaf of bread on the counter, and though there was probably better in a cabinet somewhere she was content with her find.

With a knife retrieved from a block on the counter she moved to cut the loaf of bread, but suddenly the air of the room changed and no sooner than the hair on the back of her neck stood up was she sending the knife sailing toward the kitchen's entrance.

"Wait" She heard from just beyond sight as she reached for another knife. "It is safe here."

Hands were the first thing she saw as he slowly stepped into the light. "Ivan?" She let the knife clatter to the counter as she took a good look at the familiar face.

"It has been a long time Ziva." He smiled as he pulled the knife from his door frame.

"It's been years." She agreed as she closely studied the man.

"I believe you were still young enough to sit on your father's knee." He moved to the counter with the knife, but she quickly backed up. "It is all right" He gestured to the bread before moving to slice it.

"My father is dead." She both stated and remembered. The image of his lifeless frame instantly haunting her.

"So I have been told." He placed the knife to the side as he lifted the bread and moved to the table.

There was clear suspicion in her eyes, but she didn't hesitate when he gestured for her to join him. "Many were killed." She stated somberly as she cautiously eyed the plate.

"I am sorry for your loss." He offered his condolences as he pushed the dish toward her. "Your father was a good man."

After that silence fell.

He watched silently as she ate; the way she eyed him every so often while unintentionally guarding the dish made it easy to see she had been starved. "So," With a plate clean and what had to be one upset stomach later, he asked, "Who's the American?"

"A fool" She stated factually. What he had done had been a most foolish thing and she was still having trouble believing it had actually worked.

"Can he be trusted?" The man hadn't left her side since he had first awoken but that meant nothing to Ivan. He didn't trust anyone, and especially not an American that claimed to work for the government.

"With my life." She swore as she also reassured him by saying, "He is one of us."

He nodded as he stood. "Tomorrow we will discuss the situation." She was clearly exhausted and if they were to form any kind of plan she needed to rest so she could heal.

She got to her feet slowly as she adjusted to new pains and didn't refuse his help as he lead her back to the bedroom.

"Good night Ivan." She offered quietly as she slowly closed the door. She didn't bother with the lamp, though she finally took note that it was on and dimmed. Instead she moved back to the bed and carefully reclaimed her spot next to Spencer. The last time they had shared a bed had been a lifetime ago in America. When it still seemed possible for them to settle down together and build a life. Only now she wasn't certain of what kind of life they could have. That didn't matter though; tonight she would be content with settling comfortably together in bed. She easily moved closer until she could feel the rise and fall of his chest and softly whispered, "Good night Spencer" before letting her eyes fall closed once more that night.

This was sure to be her first restful sleep in months.

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"What took you so long?" Tony greeted Derek at the elevator.

"Hello to you too." Derek spoke sarcastically as he moved past Tony and toward the bullpen. "Where's Gibbs?"

"Abby's lab" Tony provided as he harshly added, "Where we would currently be if someone managed to arrive on time."

"If you only knew the morning I've been having." A phone call to the kennel he had boarded Clooney at had iced the cake, but he pushed the thought to the side as he said, "Let's get down there."

Tony silently accepted the warning in Derek's tone as he led them through the halls.

"Have you slept yet?" Derek wondered as they stepped inside the elevator.

"What's that?" Tony huffed as he pushed the down arrow and the doors closed.

"I don't care how many years I do this job; the sleep deprivation never gets easier." Derek couldn't ignore the burning in his eyes as he rubbed them.

"It doesn't seem to bother Gibbs." Tony suppressed the yawn the conversation had brought on as he stepped out of the elevator.

"That's because the man has caffeine pumping through his veins." It reminded him of Reid. All the kid needed was a bottomless coffee pot and he could go for days. "You know," his thoughts had turned to his pretty boy's current location which probably had an understandable lack of coffee. "When the kid gets back here I'm going to buy him the biggest cup of sugar and he can flavor it with just as much coffee as his heart desires."

"Or as little." Tony scrunched his nose as they walked through the doors to Abby's lab. It was no secret to him that the doc had a sweet tooth that was sickening.

"What are we looking at?" Morgan's tone immediately switched to business as he stood beside McGee who was busy controlling a map with the keyboard.

"Voronov's comfort zone; we've narrowed it down to a 15-mile radius." From the crash course they had been given in geological profiling, McGee would say he and Abby were faring well.

"We're thinking he's somewhere in these five miles east toward the outskirts." Abby added as she pointed to the screen he and Gibbs were standing in front of.

"McGee, get that satellite footage back up!" Gibbs ordered. He didn't know why the man had felt the need to take it down.

"See anything promising?" Tony was at Gibbs' other side instantly. It was clear his boss had something specific in mind.

"I doubt it." Morgan interjected. "It's too secluded."

Tony was about to quip a snide remark until Gibbs nodded his head in agreement. "He'd stand out more there than he would in the bullpen."

"Well I doubt he's off over here cozying up with all the neighbors." Tony motioned to a more densely populated area on their now split-screen map. "Not if he's still holding Reid and Ziva captive."

"Not necessarily true," Morgan disagreed. "Gacy tortured, raped, and murdered 33 men in his house and the neighbors never bated an eye."

"Here" Gibbs interrupted the squabbling that had yet to start as he pointed south of their map.

"Multiple roads in and out." Tony noted as McGee zoomed over the location.

"Enough distance for privacy." Morgan added as they examined an areal of 20 or so houses.

"Let me see these three." Gibbs concentrated his attention on the few houses that had stood out to him.

This caused Morgan to move to the screen himself as he began another dismissal. "The lack of upkeep on this one would draw unwanted attention."

"Plus, the view of the road is partially obstructed. That's not something you want with enemies." Tony concurred.

"My money's over here." Gibbs announced to which McGee questioned, "How do you know?" Even as he blew up the house on the left to cover the whole screen.

"It's the one I'd chose." Gibbs answered.

"It has the most vantage points." Tony explained for his boss.

"And the most exits." Morgan counted three.

"And it looks like the windows open out." Those were easier to climb through.

"Find out who it belongs to." Gibbs ordered.

"That might take a while Gibbs." Abby confessed, favors and contacts were becoming limited.

"Then I suggest you get started."

"Even if we can get it connected back to Voronov, executing a search is going to be hard without the help of Mossad." McGee gave voice to the elephant in the room.

"I think kidnapping is a good enough motive McGee!" Tony exclaimed.

"No, he's right." Morgan dismissed Tony as he agreed with Tim. "Without some executive weight behind us we've no legal standing ground."

"No legal standing? They both work for federal agencies!"

"As far as the FBI is concerned, Reid is still on sick leave and as far as the world is concerned Ziva died in that bombing outside of Amman." Morgan reminded Tony.

"And we have no evidence to prove otherwise." McGee sighed.

"We have Tony's testimony, he was there when Dr. Reid was kidnapped." Abby suggested.

"That puts the ball in Mossad's court and leaves the kid open to who knows what kind of ramifications with the feds." Tony explained as his excitement settled down and he got a good look at the whole picture.

"Shepard was clearly working in collusion with David, that's got to give us something." Derek turned a hard look to Gibbs. He had followed the other man's lead but the suggestion now sitting in his eyes was clear. It was time to take the only path left available to them.

"We'll use our leverage." Gibbs begrudgingly agreed to Morgan's unspoken request.

"Are we really going to blackmail the director." Abby nearly whispered.

"She started the conspiracy." McGee rationalized. He didn't feel bad for her.

"What are we going to use?" Tony's words were more reserved; he knew how Gibbs felt about Jenny.

"Take your pick." Gibbs words were heavy as he listed, "Unlawful use of authority, accessory to an alleged terrorist attack, accessory to a crime after the fact, aiding in the impersonation of an NCIS agent with the intention of political gain, or plain old bribery."

The emotions were a mix in each set of eyes that had settled on him, but Gibbs didn't give his team a chance to voice any of them as he ordered, "McGee, get me a copy of that phone call Jenny had with Eli. DiNozzo, see if Adam can't get some eyes on this house for us in the meantime and Morgan…" He paused for a moment to think over his decision before saying, "See what the FBI has on Shepard then do what you have to and add to it. I need enough to prove I can make these charges stick if I have to."

"What about me?" Abby was hesitant to request orders of her own.

"Help them all keep this as unofficial as possible for now." With those words he left her lab.

He knew he had the winning hand, but he still wasn't quite ready to show his cards.