Her brother wasn't a murderer. She'd never believe that he would kill an NCIS agent. But that didn't stop them from suspecting. No, it was her job to turn their opinions around. By the time she was all done, they wouldn't think her brother killed Special Agent Katelyn Todd either.
Shot once, straight in the head with a sniper rifle while trying to protect your boss, you couldn't die more honorably. And she respected the dead agent for that, because she made that sacrifice. She'd die that way one day, she hoped, because it was better to die fighting than to die from something you can't stop.
And as the Israeli walked at her strictly all business pace, she knew she was in for a fight. She just hoped they were slightly reasonable, but she doubted it. So she'd use the friend she already had. Jenny Shepard, the new director of NCIS. And if that wasn't enough, she always had her official weapon hidden under her jacket, another in the holster attached to her thigh, and the knife in her boot. To start with.
Her untamed hair the color of oak flew around with the strong breeze, she tried to brush it back into place with her fingers as she walked into the doors of NCIS. Annoyed to the point that she couldn't take it anymore, she tied it back. And something told her it was going to be a very long day.
There was a man inside, sitting at one of the desks talking to himself. Phone sex? Did he really expect her to believe that? He was attractive, if you went for that kind of thing, and she was certain that she didn't. And he was annoying with the way he wouldn't just answer her questions straight out, what was it with American men and that insane guessing game mindset.
Special Agent Tony Dinozzo. She already decided he would take some getting used to, two minutes in the door and he was already undressing her with his eyes. And if she played along, who was to blame her, just because she didn't go for that kind of thing didn't mean she wasn't going to have a little fun with him.
But when the ice came into his eyes as she mentioned Ari, well, she gained a whole new respect. So there was something beneath the surface of that slightly disarming smile. And he told her he wished her brother dead, not knowing the relation of course, but still, she could see why. He was mislead and was only after the man who killed his partner, who was not Ari.
And when Jenny walked in, it was a nice little bonus to see his jaw drop at thier most casual greeting. But even then, meeting the intimidating and slightly ferocious Special Agent Gibbs, she was not as surprised as she would later be.
It was odd, she'd felt like she was betraying somebody when she talked to Ari, how could this be? He was blood, they were connected. And she was his control officer. This should not have made her feel so dirty, like scum. But that was something she couldn't dwell on. Because she would do it again, for blood. Just like she would go to Paris.
She met him a couple of days later, though he'd already heard about her. She walked in because Jenny had asked her to be there, and she wanted to be. Jenny believed Ari was innocent, they had to convince Gibbs, that was never going to happen.
He was sitting at his desk, watching her. She couldn't say what made her mouth run dry, but there he was. He wasn't rugged, he wasn't dangerous, but he wasn't safe either. He'd seen enough to not be considered innocent, but he wasn't corrupt. And he looked at her with a glint in his eye that didn't make her feel secretly threatened like everyone else in this office seemed to do. No, the glint in his eye was speculation, like he wasn't sure what to make with her. But she wasn't sure what to make of him either so that made her comfortable, even shockingly warm.
They didn't say anything to each other, just stared for a moment before she had to say something. "Hello," She offered him her hand, ignoring the shock on the goth girl's face. There was anger there, and sadness that wouldn't be penetrated with politeness. So she wouldn't try today, maybe another time when she was ready to accept the truth. Ari didn't kill Agent Todd. "I'm Ziva David."
He shook her hand, his eyes staring into hers as if he recognized her from some shared past.
"Timothy McGee." And somehow she knew her life would never be quite the same.
She was sitting in a lonely corner of a dark and shady bar. There was laughter around her, but she wouldn't join them. Tonight she wanted to be alone, because she didn't have to pretend if she was alone. Yes, alone was better.
She could still see the bullet hole in his head, could still feel the warmth of his lifeless hand as she sang the prayers that needed to be sung. She'd killed him. Was the only thought in her mind. She'd killed that blood, that connection, and she hated herself for it.
She couldn't see him clearly, but she knew he was there. And for now, she just wanted him to go away. "I prefer to drink alone." She cleared her throat, willed away all the tears that she desperately contained. Tim just shook his head, slipped into the booth across from her. "How did you find me anyway? I doubt this is a regular hangout of yours, yes?"
"Tracked your cellphone." He said it so simply, as if he'd simply told her his favorite color. Then again, it was easier to swallow than a long drawn out explanation. "Thought you might need somebody to talk to."
"There's nothing to talk about." She took a deep gulp of her beer, gave him a good stare. "Absolutely nothing."
"Then maybe I'll just get a drink." He got up for a second, was back a minute later with two beers. Set one of them down in front of her. "You looked like you could use another."
"Why are you even here?" She blurted out before she could think. "Why don't you hate me like the rest of your team?"
"For doing your job?" Tim raised an eyebrow, considered laughing, but that didn't seem right at the moment. And he didn't say anything else, because there was nothing to say.
She rolled her eyes, took her time with the beer he'd brought her before she spoke again. "You'll be leaving for Indiana in the morning, yes?"
"Yes." He didn't touch his, didn't really want to drink, because he wanted a clear head when he went to Kate's funeral. "And you'll be going back to Israel."
"With Ari's body, yes." She grimaced at the beer, suddenly despising it's bitter sweet taste. "In my line of work, you have to be objective. I failed to do that. I should have seen what he'd become, what he'd always been."
"You had no way of knowing." Tim shook his head, "Nobody really knew, except Gibbs."
She thought about this for a minute, decided not to mention how much better Gibbs seemed to know Ari than his own half-sister. And she realized, she didn't feel quite as alone as she had in a long time. "Thank you." She let her voice go quiet, he doubted she realized that her accent got thicker the softer she spoke. It was kind of sweet. "For tracing my cell phone." She looked at him from under her lashes for a brief moment, and then the sweetness was gone as she smiled tauntingly. "Still, if you ever try it again, the consequences will be...in a word... unpleasant."